The Task
by MissJenn
Summary: A young woman is given a difficult task: to dispose of Prince Arthur. Will she be able to accomplish it, or will the Prince's manservant figure out her plan and try to stop her? Completed.
1. Prologue

_This is my first fanfic, so any constructive views would be very much appreciated~ Merci!_

_And for those who look at the short prologue/first chapter and go "ewshort," the later chapters are much, _much_ longer. c:_

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**Prologue**

The room was damp, cold, and darkness covered the place like a thick blanket, giving the whole room an eerie feeling. The only visible light came from the faint flickering of torches which lined the dark walls. In the middle of the eerie room was a rock throne which was carved out of the earth itself. Sitting on the said throne was a black-clad figure whose face was hidden by the looming shadows.

"Come in," boomed the figure, its voice bouncing off the walls in a sinister way.

Immediately obeying the command, another slender figure strode into the room and dropped down to one knee.

"My Queen," said the figure, a woman with deep red hair.

The lips of the woman in the chair curled to form an amused smirk at the sound of "queen."

"Rise," commanded the older woman. Once the girl did as she was told, the "Queen" continued to speak. "You know why you are here, do you not?"

"Yes. Today is my eighteenth birthday." replied the younger woman.

The woman on the thrown nodded. "Correct. Now that you have finally turned eighteen, it is time for me to give you your first task. Tell me, are you prepared for your first task?"

There was a momentary pause as the younger female took a in a deep breath, then exhaled. "I have never been more prepared."

"Good," the woman in the chair replied. "Your first task is going to prove to me just how loyal and trustworthy you are."

"I am ready," bowed the younger girl.

"Very well. Your first task," the woman paused as her lips curled once again to form a sinister and cruel smirk, "is to kill King Uther's son."


	2. Beware, Arthur

**Chapter 1: Beware, Arthur.**

"Think fast!" shouted Arthur, throwing a spear to the nearest soldier-in-training. The man barely caught the spear, but had to hold his hands out to regain his balance. Arthur Pendragon, the son of king Uther, scoffed as he walked past the soldier and began to scrutinize the other men who were waiting for their next training instructions.

"If this is what the future soldiers of Camelot look like, then we should just surrender to our enemies now." Arthur taunted while he continued to examine them from head to toe. They definitely were a scrawny bunch. "I just hope," he began, nonchalantly strolling over to the side of the training field where his manservant was watching, "that I can whip you into shape before you all end up looking like my manservant." Arthur said as a smirk crawled across his face. Merlin gave him a 'ha-ha, real funny' face, but knew he couldn't do anything when he was insulted by the prince.

"So, men, what will it be? Will you work hard and become a warrior like me, or—" Arthur grabbed his manservant and swung his leg under Merlin's leg, causing him to fall backwards onto the grass. "—weak, like Merlin here." The prince finished, and then joined in the laughter that erupted from the soldiers-in-training.

"I don't know how you can put up with that." Guinevere mused as she peered over Merlin while Arthur walked away.

"Well, I guess that's just another part of my charm," Merlin said, smiling partly to himself, and partly because of the way the sun was shining behind Gwen.

"Yes, and laying flat on your back right next to a pile of maneuver is just _so _charming." Gwen teased.

Merlin looked over at the pile next to him before he scrambled to his feet, causing Gwen to stifle a laugh. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off.

"Merlin," Arthur called from the other side of the field, beckoning for him to follow. Merlin bade Gwen a farewell then followed.

"I'm going to need you to clean my best dress clothes by tomorrow." Arthur commanded as they walked through the castle.

"Uh, okay. But why?" Merlin asked as he struggled to keep pace with Arthur, who was walking abnormally fast.

"My father is having an annual feast with one of our ally's kings tomorrow. He wants me there. How _exciting._" He rolled his eyes as he entered his room and flopped down onto his bed.

"I think a feast sounds like fun." Merlin said, picking up the clothes that were laying around the room.

"Of course you would." Arthur sighed.

———

Meanwhile, down by the front gates of Camelot, the crowd of people were busily exiting and entering the city, passing by the two guards without trouble. A cloaked figure on a brown horse slowly rode up to the front gate and past the oblivious guards without a single glance from either of them. What they didn't know was that beneath the black hood was a young woman with deep red hair, who had only a single objective on her mind.

Kill Arthur and complete the task.


	3. The First Attempt

_Buahahahaha, longest chapter yet! It was tres, tres fun writing this and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did._

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**Chapter 2: The First Attempt.**

"I don't see why you wouldn't want to go to the feast," Merlin said as he continued to put away the clothes and other items which were strewn about. How a Prince could cause so much mess in his chambers, Merlin would never know.

"And that, Merlin," Arthur lifted himself up onto his elbows to look at his manservant, "is what separates you, the servant, from me, the Prince. You see, while you find amusement from royal feasts, I would much rather be doing something useful, like hunting." He explained in an exasperated tone before falling back onto his bed.

Now with a pile of clothes in his hand, Merlin looked around the room. Finding nothing of use, he lazily dropped the pile of dirty laundry onto the ground and kicked it under the bed. "But, why would you rather be hunting when you could be stuffing your face at a feast?"

Arthur let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. Must he explain everything? "Merlin, I've been to enough of these 'feasts' to know exactly what is going to happen. My father will expect me to sit there and look pretty, keep the people entertained, and act as if I _want_ to be there. I might as well repeatedly bang my head against a wall. Same effect," he said as he rubbed the temples of his forehead. "Now," Arthur began, "I'm going to take a nap. If my father looks for me, tell him I'm out patrolling."

"Of course, because we all know how good at lying to the king I am." Merlin sarcastically muttered under his breath.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked without opening his eyes.

"Yes, sire?"

"Get out."

"Right, sorry," Merlin apologized before leaving Arthur alone to mutter something about incompetent servants.

———

Out in the front of the castle, a young woman in a pitch black cloak and a black mask stared up at the looming castle before her. Her deep red hair gently blew in the wind as her dark blue-gray eyes scrutinized the building before her. Now that she had actually arrived at her destination, how was she going to get in? No doubt there would be guards every where she turned, and not to mention she would be spotted trying to pry the door open. Never would she have guessed that actually getting into the castle would be her downfall. No, no, it wouldn't be a problem, she told herself. She had been training for this all her life. Removing her eyes from the entrance, the young woman began to search her surroundings – and there it was. Just a little ways off was a cart full of hay. Now, if only she could figure out how to get the cart inside the castle, she could easily hide in it and when the time was right she would –

"Out of my way, peasant." shouted a guard as he pushed past her, practically causing her to fall over. Once she regained her balance, the young girl looked from the cart full of hay to the guard who had just walked past her and was heading into the castle. With a smile curving her lips, she shrugged and followed the man in.

The cloaked girl followed the man into the castle, trailing behind him ever so silently. Once she slipped through the open gate, she waited until all was clear before she tapped the man on the shoulder. He quickly turned around and finally realized he had been followed.

"Hey, you ain't supposed to – "

The young girl quickly brought her fist up and hit him square in the jaw. The guard tumbled backwards, falling on the ground with a loud _thud._ After checking to make sure no one had heard the man fall, the girl bent over the fallen guard, grabbed his keys, and then dragged him down the nearest corridor and left him in the first closet she spotted. Once he was locked in the closet, she set off for Arthur's room. Of course, she had no idea where it was, but she knew she would find it . . . eventually.

Several minutes passed as the young girl searched the castle without running into someone. _I thought there'd be more guards than this._ the girl thought to herself as she stealthily glided down the hallways, her cloak and long, braided read hair following behind her. As she was taking her millionth turn down a corridor, she saw a dark-skinned girl wearing bright yellow clothes walking down the hall with a bundle of laundry wrapped in her arms. Immediately, the cloaked girl retreated back into the previous corridor and pressed herself up against the wall. Without breathing, she stood as still as she could, hoping that the servant girl did not see her. Luckily, when she heard the footsteps going down the other corridor, she let out a slow breathe of air before continuing on her journey. She managed to escape trouble as she traversed down the last few corridors, stopping abruptly in front of a cracked door. Something told her that this was the room. Behind that cracked door was the person she needed to dispose of to finish her task. She slowly pressed her fingers to the door and pushed it open, wincing when it creaked. But when she was able to stick her head through the opening, she saw him.

Arthur. . .

———

Merlin, his head completely drenched in rotten tomatoes and decaying fruit, entered the room, catching Gaius' attention and causing him to look up from his book. "What happened to you?" he asked, wrinkling his nose at the wretched smell protruding from Merlin.

"I had to lie to the king," he simply said, brushing off some of the pumpkin from his shoulder and entering his room.

"Say no more," Gaius sighed as he returned to pouring over his books, and then asked, "Tell me, what lie did Arthur make you tell the king this time, thus landing you back into the stocks?"

"Nothing important, really," Merlin sighed as he reemerged from his chambers in a new shirt. "Speaking of Arthur, I better go bring him his lunch." He said before exiting once more.

———

He looked so peaceful, so quiet, so unaware that he was about to draw his last breath. The young woman in the black cloak and mask stood over Arthur's bed, almost in a trance, and still amazed at the lack of guards around the castle. She knew she had to end it and soon, but for some reason she could not help but stand over him and watch him sleep peacefully. For a brief moment, she doubted whether this was the right thing to do or not, to kill an innocent soul, but her senses snapped back into place when she remembered what her Queen would do to her if she failed the task. The young woman reached into the arm of her cloak and pulled out a shining dagger. She had to do it. She had to kill him. Lifting up the dagger, the girl closed her eyes . . . she had to do it. . .

"Arthur, are you awake yet?" Merlin asked as he, very loudly, entered the room holding a tray of food for his Prince. "I've got a nice plate of – Arthur!" Merlin dropped the tray of food when he saw the girl with the long red hair and mask standing over Arthur's bed while holding a dagger. Shocked, she looked at Merlin and he caught a glimpse of her beautiful blue-gray eyes. Instinctively, Merlin's eyes glowed a dim yellow. The dagger that she was holding flew out of her hand, grazed her arm, and stuck onto the wall, blood dripping from its blade. Arthur, hearing the symphony of noises, woke up and saw the girl standing before him, clutching her arm. She looked down at Arthur, and before he had a chance to grab her, quickly leaped onto the bed, bounced off the other side, then made a break for the window.

"Stop her!" Arthur shouted, and both he and Merlin raced after the girl. But in a flash, she opened the window and leapt from the room. When both the men reached the opened window, they looked out and saw . . . nothing. The woman had completely disappeared as if by . . . by . . . magic.

Baffled, Arthur and Merlin turned to look at each other, both lost for words. After a moment of silence, Arthur broke into a run and flew out the door.

"Guards, guards! Sound the alarm! I want that woman found!"


	4. Magic Mirror

**Chapter 3: Magic Mirror**

King Uther was regally standing over a large map which was spread across a rather large table. Unlike all the other times where the king would have several of his commander's standing around him figuring out battle plans, Uther was by himself. His eyes were scanning the map of Camelot back and forth, up and down, side to side, trying to spot any inconspicuous-looking locations where a murderer might be hiding. Ever since the attack happened on Arthur earlier that evening, Uther had been uneasy. When his son described the way the girl just _vanished_ in thin air, the king's thoughts immediately turned to the one subject he loathed most: magic. If there was a sorceress running around his kingdom, he wanted her found and executed as soon as possible, whatever the cost.

Uther's thoughts were abruptly broken when his son, Arthur, entered through the large wooden doors. "Did you find her?" he hopefully asked, but just by looking at Arthur's face he knew the answer.

"No. We've searched the castle and half the kingdom already, but no luck." Arthur sighed as he crossed his arms.

"Alright," Uther began, looking back at the map on the table, "double the search parties and have them search throughout the night. And send messengers to our ally's; they should keep a look out as well. If there is a chance this woman is still in the kingdom, I want her captured."

"Yes, father," Arthur said with a nod, before he turned on his heel and exited the large room, leaving his father alone to rub the temples of his forehead in frustration.

———

After he delegated what his father had just told him, Arthur headed back to his chambers, exhausted but knowing he would be unable to sleep. It is not easy falling into a slumber when all one could think about was the attempted murder earlier that day. How did this woman get into the castle so easily? How did she disappear in the blink of an eye? _Why_ couldn't they find her? These were just a few of the several questions that were busily running through the Prince's mind as he began to pace the room back and forth. He had to find that woman not only because she was a potential threat to the kingdom, but also because it was personal. This woman made an attempt on _his _life; she broke into the castle just to kill _him_. Arthur wanted to discover why such an attempt was made on his life. Sure, he's the Prince and next in line to rule Camelot, but there has to be more then that . . . right?

Just as Arthur was halfway through his hundredth time pacing the room, something caught his eye and caused him to stop dead in his tracks: the knife protruding from the wall. The Prince traversed over to the wall on the other side of his bed where the dagger was resting. A thin crust of blood was visible on the blade when Arthur got a closer look. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the dagger and pulled – but no dice. Grabbing the knife with both hands, Arthur pressed a foot against the wall and pulled with all his might. Finally, the dagger was released from the stone-hard grasp of the wall, causing Arthur to stumble backwards slightly. Once his balance was regained, he lifted up the small weapon and examined it closely, furrowed his eyebrows, slowly pocketed the knife, then left his chambers to go join his men in the search.

———

Right after the attempted murder had occurred, Merlin volunteered to join in the search for the woman. He was the only one who had actually seen her, so it was practical that he would help look for the woman who tried to murder the Prince. Arthur, on the other hand, had a different idea. After a while Merlin began to get on his nerves, so he told the manservant to go and clean the stables. Reluctantly Merlin obliged, but once he finished cleaning, he wasted no time before he was in the library pouring over books. The woman had disappeared so suddenly, and Merlin knew it had to be because of magic. But he never heard of anyone _vanishing _right after jumping out of a window before. He tried his best to find something in the old books that would mention a person vanishing, but, sadly, he was unsuccessful.

Merlin left the old, dusty library and headed back to where he and Gaius were staying. Just as expected, Gaius was busy working on several potions that needed to be delivered the next day.

"Ah, Merlin, there you are. I heard about what happened today; they have not found her yet, have they?" Gaius asked, his eyes following Merlin as he headed to his room.

"No, it looks likes she's escaped for now. It's as if she's just . . . vanished." Merlin said before stopping abruptly in front of his room. "Hey, Gaius, have you ever heard of someone – a sorcerer, maybe – disappearing in thin air?"

Gaius looked at Merlin and paused to think, "Disappearing? Hmm . . . . no, I do not believe I have . . except . . . maybe . . ."

"Except what?"

"Except, maybe if someone was magically powerful enough, a sorcerer may be able to make themselves disappear. I am not certain, though, but it may be possible." Gaius explained before turning back to his work.

"Interesting . . ." Merlin said as he turned and entered his room. From under his bed, he pulled out the magical book Gaius had given him and began to search for the 'disappearing' trick once more.

———

Meanwhile, in the dark, eerie forest, a few good miles outside of Camelot, a cloaked figure was running through the forest at top speed. The figure, the young girl, had been running ever since she escaped Camelot. She needed to find somewhere safe to camp, but she did not want to do it anywhere inside or near Camelot, for she knew they would be looking for the girl who just tried to kill Arthur, the Prince. She had lost her mask a few miles back, so her face was now visible. Her nose and cheeks were red and her face was a pale white. With her breathing heavy and her arm bleeding non-stop, the girl finally found a somewhat closed-off area surrounded by trees. Deciding that this was as good as a place to stop as ever, she collapsed down by the nearest tree and propped herself up. She pulled a rag out her bag that she had hidden earlier but recovered on her flight out of Camelot and began to fix up her cut arm. Right as she was tying the rag up, she noticed her bag begin to glow from within. Taking in a deep breath of air, she pulled out a small-ish mirror.

This mirror was not like any ordinary mirror. It was made out of silver laced with a sort of purple design. There was a large blue jewel on the top of the mirror, giving it a very mythical look. The blue jewel was glowing brightly, and the mirror itself looked as if a cloud was swirling inside it. The cloud parted from the middle of the mirror, and from it came the dark, sinister face of an older woman.

"My Queen," the younger woman said, trying to mask her pain as best as she could; she was still out of breath from her run.

"Well?" the woman impatiently asked, not remotely interested in why the girl was in such pain.

"I – I was discovered." She reluctantly said.

The older woman said nothing for a while, then, "This is disappointing news, but not unexpected."

"I am very sorry, I tried but – what?" the younger woman asked, taken aback.

"I knew you would mess up your first attempt, so I planned ahead. Look in your bag."

The younger woman reached into her bag, and after rooting around for a while, pulled out a small vial full of a sort of brownish liquid.

"I am sure you know what that is, correct?" the older woman said from inside the mirror.

It took the girl a few moments, but once she got a good look at the vial, there was a sharp intake of breath before she said, "y-yes, I know what this is."

The older woman grinned mischievously. "Good. Use it wisely, and do not fail me again. I will not be so forgiving."

"Yes, mother." The girl croaked. And with that, the older woman disappeared, and the mirror was normal once more.


	5. A Familiar Face

_I have randomly (okay, maybe not so randomly) decided to have this story set some time before the episode Excalibur. Don't worry, for those who haven't seen the episodes before Exalibur, I'm not gonna be all "HEY THIS HAPPENED AND SPOILSPOILSPOIL." I'm not like that . . . I hope. Anywho, thanks for reading and reviewing! C:

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**Chapter 4: A Familiar Face**

The echo of footsteps bounced down the empty hallway as Arthur traversed through the castle, a stern look plastered onto his face. It had been a day since the attempted assassination and everyone was still upset about it; even if they only talked about it in hushed whispers. Many people have attempted to kill the royal family one way or another, but this was the first time someone successfully slipped into the castle and got that close to actually committing the crime. If Merlin hadn't been there when he had . . . well, Arthur didn't really like to think about it. It seems, though, that Merlin does nothing _but_ save Arthur's life. Guess he has to make up being a terrible manservant somehow.

When Arthur took a left turn down a corridor, he spotted one of his army captains hurrying towards him.

"Please tell me you have some news." Arthur asked with an exasperated tone.

The captain of the guards bowed low after stopping in front of Arthur, "Sire," he began, straightening up, "I am afraid the news I have is not pleasant."

Arthur sighed once more. "Still cannot find her?"

"No, my liege. We have searched all the smaller villages, and half of the forests. She is nowhere to be found."

"Well, you did your best." Arthur brought his hand up to pat the man on the shoulder. "Keep some men on the lookout, but get most of them ready for the feast soon." He said.

"Yes, sire," the captain bowed once more before leaving.

Arthur continued down the corridor and headed back to his chambers, his mood sinking lower and lower. He had never heard of anyone disappearing from a whole kingdom before, and frankly, it was annoying him. But, he could not dwell on it too much, for he had a feast to go to. Huzzah.

The moment Arthur entered his room the dagger on the table caught his eye. He leisurely walked over to it and picked it up, then examined it like he has done a million times before. It was a unique dagger; it was rigid and had an extra sharp point. There was faint writing on the hilt of the dagger, but it was unreadable and seemed to be in a different language. Sighing for the hundredth time today, Arthur placed the dagger in his belt and turned on his heel. He walked over to his bed and gently sat down before sinking his head into his hands. The lack of sleep he was running on was beginning to wear him down. Still, he could not shirk his duties to his kingdom just because he was tired. As Arthur rubbed the temples of his forehead, something which was poking out from under his bed caught his attention. Reaching down to grab the brown piece of cloth, Arthur pulled out one of his wrinkled cloaks. "What . . . ?" he muttered as he slipped off the bed and onto his knees. Bending down to look under his bed, Arthur found a large pile of bundled up clothes looking back at him.

"_Merlin!" _

"Yes, Arthur?" Merlin poked into the room, startling Arthur.

After Arthur got over being startled, he grabbed the pile of clothes from under his bed and chucked them at Merlin in an angry fashion. "What is this, clothes under my bed? You are _the worst_ manservant I have ever had the displeasure of having!"

Merlin managed to dodge the first two pairs of clothing thrown at him, but when Arthur hurled a boot it hit him square in the face. "Ow! That was not me, I swear!" he said, peeling the shoe off of his face and rubbing the red mark on his forehead.

"Oh, sure, then I guess my clothes just _magically_ jumped into a pile and hid under my bed?"

Merlin paused for a moment. ". . . what would your reaction be if I said that was true?"

A grunt escaped from the blonde-haired man as he sunk back onto his bed. "Merlin, I do not have time for this. Tell me, do I actually have something clean to wear?"

"Actually, that is why I'm here." Merlin held up a clean pair of clothes for Arthur to wear. "See, you did not need to throw the boot at me in the first place."

Arthur shifted his eyes to look over at Merlin as he stared him down for a few moments, before standing up and looking Merlin squarely in the face. They both stared at each other for a few moments, Arthur with a less-than-pleased face and Merlin with a clueless face. Finally, Arthur spoke, "Well? Are you not going to leave so I can change?"

"Oh. Sorry," Merlin bowed and began to leave the room.

"Merlin."

"What?" he said, poking his head back through the door.

"My clothes," Arthur jerked his head at Merlin, indicating towards the clothes in his hands.

" . . . right, here you go." Merlin sheepishly handed Arthur the clothes and bowed once more, then exited the room.

"Stupid servant," Arthur muttered as he slammed the door behind Merlin and began to prepare for the feast.

———

Many people were gathered within the courtroom, all dressed up and waiting for the guests of the feast to arrive. The people were all dressed up in their best gowns and formal wear, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, for they were all standing around talking and laughing with each other. There was one man, however, who was not as merry as the rest: Arthur. A bored expression swept across his face as he slumped over the side of his chair. A long sigh escaped through his nose as he looked around at all the happy people, completely bored out of his mind.

"Merlin, come here." Arthur called, tilting his head back slightly to look at Merlin who was standing not far off. Merlin broke away from his conversation with Gaius and quickly hurried over to Arthur's side.

"You called, sire?" Merlin asked, not entirely sure of what the bored Arthur could want.

Arthur swept his eyes around the room once more before looking back to his manservant. "Get me a goblet of wine."

Merlin blinked, "Um . . . Would it not be better for you to wait for the royal party to arrive before you start downing alcohol?"

"Merlin," Arthur began with a frustrated tone, rubbing his forehead as he spoke, "I am two seconds away from throwing myself out of the nearest window. If I am going to survive this evening, I am going to need all the wine I can get. Now, do something right for once and _go get my wine._"

Arthur's manservant was about to say something, but just as his lips parted, the sound of trumpets erupted all around them. The large wooden door to the courtroom opened, and yellow-clad men began to march in the room carrying flags with the symbol of the wolf on it.

"Here we go," Arthur muttered under his breath as he stood up right after his father, ready to greet the king and his party.

———

The brown liquid within the vile swished around as the redheaded girl examined the liquid once more. Her brows furrowed while she continued to look at the brown liquid, her face a mixture of concentration and fear. She did not want to get caught by any of the King's guards, nor did she want to fail and incur the wrath of her ill-tempered mother. She was indeed in a tough situation. Either way she failed, no doubt she would end up having her head chopped off. A shudder trailed down her spine just at the mere thought of facing the chopping blocks. She did not know what was worse, though: losing her head, or having to face her mother. The sound of the trumpets startled the young girl, causing her to break out of her trance.

"Time to go," she whispered to herself as she slipped the vile of brown liquid into her dress sleeve. After checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, she stood up and walked down the corridor, took a right turn, then disappeared within the crowd of people entering the courtroom.

———

King Uther's bored son dropped back into his chair after his successful greeting with the visiting king and his group. The blue eyes of Arthur quickly searched the room for his manservant. After a few seconds, he spotted the messy black hair which could only belong to Merlin, "Merlin!" he called, and when Merlin looked over towards him, Arthur beckoned him over with his hands. "I would really like that goblet of wine now."

"Yes, sire," Merlin said before quickly hurrying away. A few seconds later he came back with a golden goblet full to the brim with wine. Arthur quickly snatched it away and began to down the drink. While Arthur entertained himself with the alcohol, Merlin decided to scan the room and see who was there. When he spotted Gwen, a smile curved at the corner of his lips. She was talking to a girl of the same age with blonde hair, so Guinevere wouldn't be looking over in Merlin's direction anytime soon. So, he continued to inspect the room – and that's when he saw her. Secluded in the corner of the room was a girl with deep red hair and unbeatably gorgeous blue-gray eyes. Something familiar about her clicked within Merlin's head, but he was not sure where he had seen her before. But, he did have a feeling that wherever he knew her from, it was not on good terms.

"Arthur, look over there, at the girl with the red hair," Merlin whispered, nudging his head over in the direction of the girl.

Arthur looked up from his goblet and scrutinized the young woman. "You do not stand a chance with her." He mused as he took another gulp of his wine.

"What? No – that's not what I mean – " Merlin began, but Arthur interrupted him.

"However, there is something interesting about her . . . " Arthur tilted his head, examining her closely. The bored look on her face intrigued him, and with another large gulp of his wine, he shoved his goblet towards Merlin and stood up. "I'll be back later," he said, and, completely ignoring Merlin and his protests, strutted over towards the girl.

———

Indeed, the red-headed girl was just as bored as the prince. She had no other business here than to complete her task, and she very well couldn't walk up to Arthur and ask him to drink the thick brown liquid within her vile. No, she had to think very carefully about her next move. She had to somehow get close to Arthur without drawing attention to herself . . .

"Boring party, huh?"

The young girl practically jumped out of her skin when she heard someone speak behind her. Quickly whirling around, she saw Arthur standing there with a grin across his face.

"Sorry, it was not my intention of scaring you." He apologized.

Mentally kicking herself, the girl gave an embarrassed smile and bowed, "No, no, it is alright, I was just not paying attention. And to answer your question, I do not find this feast boring at all."

Arthur arched one of his eyebrows. "Really? You looked quite bored only a moment ago."

The red-headed girl also raised an eyebrow, but it quickly connected in her head. The reason why he was talking to her was because she, like him, looked bored. Resisting the urge to grin mischievously, she smiled slightly, "Alright – you caught me. I do not find much amusement from feasts like this."

Hearing this, Arthur grinned again. "Then we have something in common, miss — ?"

"Adria," she said bowing to him again, "I am the advisor for King John." Adria said, obviously lying, but Arthur did not see it.

"Miss Adria, advisor to King John, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said, slipping his hand under her own and gently placing a kiss on the back of her beautifully soft white hand.

Adria pretended as if she was flattered, but her mind was in complete contrast to her expression. _That's right, Arthur. Kiss my hand. _She scoffed to herself. This was going to be easier than she thought.

———

While Arthur talked to the girl with the deep red hair, Merlin stood back and watched with a wary eye. Something about that girl unsettled him, and he did not like it. As he stood there, watching them, Gwen came up behind him with a smile. "Hello, Merlin. Enjoying yourself?" she asked, but Merlin barely took notice of her.

"Mmm . . . " he said, still watching Arthur and the girl.

"Merlin, is everything okay?"

"What?" Merlin asked, looking down to Gwen, who had a curious look on her face. "Gwen," he said, lowering his voice and stepping closer to her, "do you see that girl over there? The one Arthur's talking to?"

Gwen looked over at the two and nodded slowly.

"Something about her – her red hair, those eyes – it seems so familiar . . . " Merlin began, and then it clicked. He didn't know how he could have missed it. The hair and the eyes, it all made sense. It was the girl who tried to kill Arthur. "I got it! She is the girl who tried to murder Arthur!" he whispered, excited that he finally figured out who she was.

"What? Merlin, are you sure?" Gwen asked, not completely convinced.

"Of course I am. I saw her. I could never forget that face."

"But, Merlin, why would the person who is trying to kill Arthur come back when there are so many guards around? Besides, they could not find her. She's probably in another kingdom."

"What is this, are you two having a party here without me?" Morgana playfully asked, suddenly appearing beside Gwen.

"Merlin thinks the girl Arthur is talking to is the one who tried to kill him." Gwen informed her.

"I do not think it, I know it!" Merlin interrupted, "I know those eyes. She's the girl, and I say we keep an eye on her."

"Merlin, you are being ridiculous, why would – "

"I think Merlin's right," Morgana suddenly said. "about keeping an eye on her, anyway. I have an odd feeling about her, and I think it would be best if we keep a look out."

Sighing, Gwen could not help but agree with Lady Morgana. Perhaps there was something about the red-headed girl after all . . .


	6. I'm watching you

**Chapter 5: I'm watching you**

"So, tell me Miss Aria, how are you enjoying Camelot so far?" Asked the future king, Arthur, as he stole a quick glace around the room before landing his steely blue hues back onto the red-haired beauty. Something about this woman intrigued Prince Arthur, and he didn't know why. He did not argue with the feeling, however; anything to keep him entertained during this monotonous feast was good in his book.

If only Arthur knew exactly how Adria's stay in Camelot was faring. Perhaps then he would not be so keen to dive deep into conversation with her. Fighting back the horrible urge to allow a smirk to slide across her face and let out a chuckle of amusement, Adria slowly nodded to him and answered, "It is a lovely kingdom. What really caught my interest, however, was the archery range that I noticed on my way into the castle."

The brow of Arthur arched slightly at the mention of archery. With interest now spread across his face, he asked, "You are interested in archery?"

"Oh, but of course." Adria replied, again suppressing the urge to grin mischievously. "I love archery. Sadly, women are forbidden to practice such 'violence' back in my kingdom. If only I could find a way to practice . . . ." She had no clue what-so-ever if this was true law or not, but she could only hope Arthur was daft enough to believe her.

Lucky enough, he was. "Sad, but I have heard of such a law before." Arthur paused for several moments as if he was deep in thought, then continued to speak, "Although, I am sure if you were to, say, stay in Camelot for a bit, I could perhaps arrange some archery lessons for you." He smirked, not-so-subtly proposing for her to stay in Camelot for an extended period of time.

Adria was not sure if it was the wine he had been drinking (the pungent smell of his breath was enough to kill a horse in one blow) or his haughty, arrogant attitude proposing for her to stay with them, but she was happy with either one. This was becoming easier than she could have ever hoped. "Sire, are you saying I could perhaps visit Camelot for a while? Could you actually do that?" she asked with a fake air of surprise and interest.

"I would, of course, have to run it past my father, but I don't see why not." he said, the same smirk still plastered across his face. He then continued on, "I should go, but I shall ask my father and have my manservant let you know soon." With that, Arthur gave Adria the usual, formal bow, and after she returned with a curtsy of her own, he whisked away to go speak with his father.

Her grayish-blue eyes followed him as he disappeared within the crowd, only daring to grin the moment his whole figure was out of view. If she had only known how effortless this was going to be, she would have skipped attempting to murder him within his room and gone straight to impersonating a royal advisor. Feeling quite prideful of herself, Adria scanned the room with her eyes, and noticed something which unsettled her nerves. The manservant to Arthur had been staring right at her. When he saw her cast her line of vision over in his direction, he immediately looked away and pretended to find something interesting in the opposite corner of the room. The eyelids of the assassin squinted forebodingly as she examined the boy up and down, an uneasy feeling coursing through her veins. That boy was suspicious; she could easily tell by the way he kept trying to inconspicuously steal a look at her. If that was any other man Adria would just disregard him entirely, but she remembered him from her first attempt at Arthur. No, he was not someone she could underestimate. _I must watch him. _Adria told herself, casting a ghastly glance to the manservant. With that final thought, she swept away from the crowd and vanished through the large wooden courtroom doors.

———

After leaving the company of the lovely advisor, the prince pushed himself through the sea of people to find the king. No doubt he would be the one within the center of the largest group, seeing as he _was_ the ruler of Camelot, after all. Luckily, he was somewhat secluded. The moment Arthur arrived at the side of his father, King Uther waved off the knight he was conversing with and turned to face his son. "Ah, Arthur, my boy! There you are!" he said, a bit too enthusiastically. It seems that, by the overpowering smell of his breath, the king of Camelot had been enjoying a few goblets of wine himself.

"Sire, there is something I would like to ask you," Arthur began, and was about to continue to speak, but his father's happy façade immediately turned into a concerned and stern look.

"Arthur, have you been drinking?" his father asked, taking a step closer to examine the slightly inebriated son. Arthur, not expecting to be asked that question, tried to give an explanation, but all that came out of his mouth was a string of stutters.

"Well – I – yes, perhaps, but –"

"Wonderful! I expect everyone here to be enjoying themselves. This is a feast, after all." Uther patted Arthur on the back, grinning, before he brought up his jewel encrusted goblet to his mouth and took a rather large gulp of his wine. "Now, Arthur, what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

Feeling a wave of relief wash over him, Arthur resumed the formation of his inquiry, "I just finished talking to the Advisor of King John, and we came up with a splendid idea. The advisor would like to spend a few extra weeks here in Camelot, so as to learn more about our kingdom. This very well may aid our alliance with King John." He added the last part to help persuade his father into succumbing to his request. However, Uther was at such a high level of intoxication that a horse could have easily persuaded him to sleep in the stables for the night. King Uther broke away from his son and shifted his vision towards a lanky looking fellow standing next to the visiting King, then looked back at the prince with a grin across his face.

"What a grand idea! Tell the advisor that they are welcomed to stay here as long as they like." Uther exclaimed, raising his goblet to no one in particular. Now having a feeling of accomplishment and excitement coursing through him, Arthur grabbed a chalice of wine from a passing servant and likewise raised his goblet, joining his father in the exhilaration that is the feast.

———

The moment the girl with the deep red hair shot a threatening look towards his direction, Merlin swore a chill struck down his spine. That look – that menacing stare – made Merlin feel a quick twinge of fear within the pit of his stomach. Just by the cautious glance she threw at him, he knew that she was going to be watchful of him. If the manservant was right and she was indeed the girl who attempted to dispose of Arthur, then no doubt she would remember the manservant known as Merlin from the previous day. Merlin now knew that he had to be careful – extremely careful. If there was some chance that this woman was of powerful sorcery, then he would need to be cautious about every step he takes. One wrong move and he could end up being the one who disappears next time.

Because Morgana and Gwen were pulled away from his company, Merlin had to act as if he found something very intriguing on the opposite wall when the girl discovered he was watching her. Several times he tried to look back over and see if she had taken her eyes off of him, but each time he dared to glance at her she was staring at him with piercing eyes. Fortunately, luck seemed to shine on Merlin, for her daunting stares had ended when she decided to disperse from the feast. The warlock considered trailing after her to see what trouble she was up to, but the tipsy Pendragon Prince had a different plan for him.

"Merlin, come here!" Arthur's booming and distant voice called from somewhere on the other side of the room.

"Coming," he called back with a sigh, pilfering one last glace at the large wooden doors before fighting his way through the crowd of merry men and women.

Several hours had passed since the feast had begun, and it was well into the night when it finally ended and everyone dispersed. Arthur, having completely drowning himself in wine and other alcoholic beverages, had to have his servant drag him back to his chambers. As luck would have it, Merlin did not drink a single drop, so he was perfectly fine to haul Arthur down the hallways and into his royal room.

"Merlin, my head is throbbing." Arthur jadedly stated as he was dropped down onto his ever-so-soft bed. "Why did you let me drink so much?"

Of course Merlin would get the blame for this. He _always_ got the blame. Immediately after hearing the accusation, his eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth to quarrel with Arthur that he was _forced_ into refilling his goblet several times, but decided against it. Arguing with an arrogant man who could barely walk would prove to be no better than arguing with a stone wall. "Sorry my leige, I don't know what I was thinking." Merlin spoke, exhaling a silent sigh as he helped the half-asleep Arthur out of his good clothes. Once the royal air to the throne was perfectly situated, Merlin bade him a goodnight and began to leave so he could go fall asleep in his own bed.

"Merlin," Arthur moaned into his pillow and, unfortunately, caught the attention of his manservant.

"Yes, Sire?"

"You did as I asked and prepared a room for Adria, correct?"

Merlin had to resist the desire to let out an annoyed grunt. "Yes, my lord, I did."

"Good." replied the Prince. Just as Merlin was about to leave, he spoke once more, "Oh, and, Merlin,"

"Yes, Sire?" The manservant said yet again, but this time through clenched teeth.

"Tomorrow you will muck out the stables."

"What? But why do I have to –"

"Don't question me. Now leave," Arthur commanded, grinning as Merlin grunted and crossly left the future king to fall into a deep and much needed slumber.


	7. Archery Lessons

**Chapter 6: Archery Lessons**

The room was quiet. Peaceful, even. Not a sound was being made . . . . save for the loud snores emitting from within the pile of fabric in the middle of the room. A thin ray of light peered through the red curtains, casting a warm glow on a sleeping face. By the brightness of the light from outside, one could easily assume that it was well after daybreak. Inside the royal chambers, Prince Arthur was peacefully sleeping in a rather awkward position. Most of his face was buried into the pile of soft pillows while his bare arm hung loosely off the bed. Surely Arthur was sleeping in so late because of his late night the previous day. Anyone could have easily assumed that he, the crowned prince, would want to be left alone after such an exciting night – especially his manservant. There was no doubt that Merlin knew how much Arthur would dislike being woken up not at a reasonable hour. Perhaps that is why he loudly busted into the room with a grin across his face.

"Time to get up, your highness!" shouted Merlin as he entered with a tray of food in his hands, dropping the tray onto the table in a noisy fashion. A loud groan escaped from Arthur as he grabbed one of his biggest pillows and hid under it, hoping that if he just ignored Merlin long enough, he'd go away. But this was not the case. "Wake up Sire, I have your breakfast!" said the manservant, again, in a rather loud voice. He was just having way too much fun.

Arthur groaned from under his pillow once more, and when Merlin dared to pull the blankets off of him, he slowly hoisted himself up to a ninety-degree angle, exposing his shirtless torso. Still half asleep, he shot a deathly glare at the chipper manservant. "Merlin, you are an _idiot_ every day of the week; couldn't you have possibly taken the day off?" Arthur sarcastically asked, his throat hoarse and his head pounding as if someone had repeatedly beat it with a stick last night.

"Oh, come now! Who wouldn't want to be up on a beautiful day like this?" said the warlock, still grinning from ear to ear with amusement. Merlin strode over to the windows and quickly drew back the curtains, causing Arthur to wince at the bright light suddenly appearing within the room.

"I – loathe – you." Arthur said between grunts as he proceeded to throw several pillows in Merlin's general direction. Sadly, because of his atrocious headache, he missed Merlin by a mile. This only caused the black-haired boy's entertained grin to widen even more as he dodged all of the pillows. Defeated, Arthur forced himself out of the comfortable bed and slowly dragged his feet all the way to the table five feet away, although it felt like it was much, much further. There he plopped himself down onto the small throne-like chair and began to eat the food out in front of him. "Merlin," Arthur began, his tone suddenly casual, "before you finish cleaning out the stables and polishing _all_ of my armor –"

"Polishing your armor? But last night you only said to –"

"—_all of my armor,_" repeated he, completely ignoring Merlin's attempt at a protest, "you are to set up the targets for today. I am going to be teaching Adria Archery."

Merlin's face immediately turned grave. It was not because of the extra work, however; it was because Arthur mentioned the supposed "advisor to King John." He had to tell Arthur about her: no matter how fond his master was of her. "About that. Arthur, I don't think – "

"Do not try and get out of your duties, Merlin." Arthur interrupted with an annoyed tone, "I don't care how much you complain, you know I will only win in the end."

"It's not about that. It's about Adria."

Arthur turned to look at Merlin with a look of question. "What about her?"

"Well, sire, it's just that . . . I don't trust her." Merlin said, deciding that, perhaps, it would be easier and more convincing to ease into the news rather than to throw it all on Arthur. He was impaired by his headache, after all.

The manservant was then given another irritated look. "What do you mean 'you don't trust her'?"

Merlin began to feel slightly uncomfortable. He did not like the way this was going. "I . . . er . . . I have reason to believe that she was the one who attempted to –"

Before Merlin could get anymore out, a symphony of knocks suddenly erupted from the wooden doors of the chambers. "Enter," Arthur commanded, already disregarding whatever his incompetent manservant had to say. After he was given permission, a tall, lanky, and rather awkward looking fellow peered in through the door, giving a bright smile to the prince. "Good morning, sire. I was thinking – if it was alright with you, of course – that we could get an early start today and perhaps you could give me a tour of the castle. I would love to hear about how you run your kingdom and –"

"Who in Camelot's name are you?" Arthur rudely said, staring at the man with an intolerant and intimidating look. By the look on his face, the king's son had absolutely no clue as to who the discomfited-looking man was. The man, completely baffled and slightly intimidated by the look he was receiving, began to stutter as he entered the room.

"F-forgive me s-sire, allow m-me to introduce m-myself," he began while giving the daunting prince a low bow, "I am Ulric, the advisor to King John."

Arthur had to try his best to hold back a loud scoff. "Is that right?"

"Y-yes, sire. I was greatly thrilled when I heard you had suggested I stay a f-few extra weeks in your lovely kingdom. I hope to learn all I can about you and Camelot." Ulric said, still intimidated by Arthur. Merlin, who was still standing over by the window being completely ignored, was just beginning to put two and two together.

"Oh, but of course." Arthur stood up and slowly began to walk over in Ulric's direction, acting as if he was interested when he obviously was just the opposite.

"I have always wanted to visit another kingdom and spend some time with the royalty. I am positive I can learn numerous amounts of information about you and your kingdom. History, politics, wars, I am excited to learn about it all." Ulric continued, completely unaware that Arthur had nonchalantly begun to lead him out of the room.

"Mmhmm, yes, yes." The Prince nodded as he opened the wooden door and stepped out of his chambers with Ulric. "Excuse me for a moment – guards, come here." Arthur called, beckoning to the guards. Once he had given the command, the two guards that were by his room obeyed and marched over. "This man is an imposter. Lock him up; I shall deal with him later."

Merlin, who had been intently listening to the whole conversation and knew that Ulric was telling the truth, poked his head out from the room and watched as the guards had grabbed the suddenly pale and stammering advisor and dragged him off. "Sire, I think he _is_ the advi – "

"Merlin, do I look like a stupid man?" Arthur warningly said to his manservant. Before Merlin could reply with an obvious answer, he continued, "It was clear this man was lying the whole time. Unless you have forgotten, Adria is the advisor to King John."

"But, Arthur, that's what I was trying to tell you! Adria is the one who – "

"I do not want to hear any more of you and your incessant whining!" crossly exclaimed Arthur, his anger beginning to bubble like hot water. "I suggest you get out of my sight this instant, or else you shall have to clean every piece of armor in the realm."

By the menacing look that was contorted on Arthur's face, Merlin thought it best to let him cool down and do as he said. Muttering something incoherently, Merlin pushed himself past the royal prat and stormed down the hallway. With a triumphant grin on his face, Arthur went back into his room to prepare for his lesson with Adria.

With a huff and a puff, Merlin was fulfilling out his orders as he rolled several targets across the large field in preparation for Arthur and Adria. While he was not happy that Arthur was going to be spending time with the person who had tried to kill him just a few days prior, Merlin knew that there was little he could to do persuade the arrogant crowned prince, aside from just telling him the truth. Even though there was not much hope in convincing Arthur at the moment, he knew there was one thing he could do: watch the girl like a hawk. Merlin had every intention of watching the archery lesson, no matter how long the said lesson may last. It was the warlock's duty – no, his _destiny_ – to protect and keep Arthur safe from all dangers. He could assume that, as long as he was there to keep an eye out on Adria, she would not dare to try and dispose of Arthur while in Merlin's presence . . . he hoped.

After Merlin got the targets set up and ready to have numerous amounts of arrows shot into them, he wiped his brow with his sleeve and turned around to observe the training field. What he saw on the other side of the field disturbed him immensely. There, watching him with threatening eyes, was a figure dressed in a royal green dress with flowing dark red hair.

It seems like Merlin won't be the only one doing the watching today.

———

Sadly, what Adria feared had become a reality: the manservant was wary of her, and by the looks of it, he was not going to leave her alone with the prince anytime soon. This complicated her task greatly. Not only does she now have to figure out a way to kill Arthur, but she also has to figure out a way to keep the servant off her back. Perhaps she should just dispose of him, too. The thought brought a subtle smile to the corners of her mouth. But, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that would be quite the difficult job. There was something about the boy . . . something that troubled her. She could almost sense something different about him. He did not seem like any normal servant of the prince. No, there was definitely something about him that she needs to be wary of. He might even be cleverer than he appears – _might_ being the key word.

Adria's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a warm hand was gently placed on her shoulder. After practically having a heart attack, Adria turned around to encounter, once again, Arthur and his charming smile. "Good morning, Adria." He said, giving her the expected formal bow, and she, returning with a curtsy.

"A good morning it is, sire." Adria greeted him, conjuring up all the fake politeness she could muster, when in reality her mind was gathering all the ways she could use the brown liquid hidden up her sleeve without being noticed by the watchful manservant.

"Wonderful. Are we ready to begin?" Arthur walked over to where the weapons were laid out, picking up two crossbows as he did so.

Seeing Arthur pick up the two crossbows, Adria examined them for a moment before asking, "Oh, actually, I was wondering if we could start out with a regular bow. I've always been fascinated by those."

"A regular bow?" Arthur paused for a moment to contemplate the idea. "It has been a while since I've used one . . . but I don't see why not." Exchanging the two crossbows out for two regular bows, Arthur grabbed a bundle of arrows and lead Adria over to where they would be practicing. Adria trailed behind Arthur, seizing the opportunity to catch the eye of Merlin and mischievously grin towards him. Merlin returned her grin with a hard stare, which only made her mischievous grin turn into one of amusement.

"Alright Adria, first rule of archery is to concentrate." said Arthur, bringing up his bow and arrow and pointing it at the target some hundred feet away. "Next, relax. Don't tense up, and make sure to breathe slowly. Once you practice enough . . . " he pulled back the string, paused for a moment, then let go and watched as the arrow sailed through the air, hitting the target with a soft _thud._ It had hit just outside of the middle circle. ". . . you can eventually shoot like that."

"Marvelous!" Adria clapped from the side, making the chip on Arthur's shoulder grow that much bigger. "Let me try." She stepped in front of the other target and brought her bow and arrow up just like Arthur, but when she held it, her form was completely wrong. When she let go, her arrow barely made it ten feet before it sank down into the earth below. A look of defeat spread across her face as she turned to Arthur, obviously distraught at her horrible attempt.

By the look on the prince's face, it was obvious that he knew he had a lot of work to do with her. "Well . . . that wasn't too bad. Here, bring up your bow again." Adria did as she was told and brought her bow up once again, pulling the string back but holding it in that position. "Let's work on your form. Lower your elbow here – like this." Arthur stepped behind her and gently touched her elbow and lowered it slightly. He stepped closer and grabbed the arm which was holding the arrow and adjusted it so it was up closer to her face. "There – that's a little better."

An odd feeling began to rise within Adria. As she stood there, Arthur right behind her, close, touching her, his warm breath gently brushing against her skin, an unusual sensation welled up in her stomach. She could just feel her insides faintly tingling while the blood rushed towards her face, causing her cheeks to become warmer than usual. What was this that was happening to her? What was this weird feeling that began to take over her? Adria had never felt a sensation before, but she decided that the best thing to do was shake it off and get back to the task at hand. Once Arthur had stepped back, Adria let go of the arrow, sending it whirring through the air a good fifty feet before it stuck hard into the ground.

"Better." commented Arthur, smiling at the noticeable improvement. He had her try about ten more times until she was running low on arrows. "Merlin," Arthur beckoned his manservant, pointing towards the field in front of them which was littered with arrows. Merlin silently sighed and made his way out onto the field, picking up the arrows as he did so.

_Whzzzzt! _Screamed an arrow as it soared over Merlin's head right as he bent down to pick up one of the arrows, missing the top of his head by mere inches. Startled, Merlin quickly looked up to see who had attempted to impale him with an arrow. To no surprise, he found Adria standing there, pointing her bow at him. For a fleeting moment he saw her face enraged with anger; she was undoubtedly mad that she had missed the manservant. After her quick, silent anger spell, Adria switched over into a shocked expression and dropped her bow. "Oh my – are you okay?" She picked up her dress and ran over to Merlin, as if she was worried that she had almost hit him. "Forgive me! I was just practicing – I didn't mean to almost hit you!"

"I'm fine, really." Merlin replied through clenched teeth. Adria, however, would not hear of it.

Clasping his head between her hands, she proceeded to examine him. "Are you sure you are okay? Did I hit you at all?" Adria asked, pulling him closer. When his face was nigh but a few inches away from hers, she dropped her voice so only he could hear her venomous words. "If you are a wise man in any way, you will not cross me, servant."

Merlin was caught off guard at her sudden change of tone. He wanted to say something back, but Arthur had called over to them. "Please Adria, he's fine. It's not your fault he was on the field." Arthur said before commanding Merlin to go stand back on the sidelines. Adria watched him leave and, again, shot him a piercing look that would easily cause a Knight of Camelot to tremble. Merlin returned back to his position with an anxious feeling while Arthur and Adria continued with their lesson.

The Archery lesson continued well into the day. The sun was high into the sky by the time Adria had gained any progress in actually hitting the target with the arrows. Merlin had not broken his gaze away from her once, not trusting her with even a millisecond alone with Arthur. Aria shot off an arrow which just hit the outside of the target when a messenger came up from behind, calling Arthur. "Sire! The King requests your presence at once."

"Very well." Arthur waved off the messenger before turning his attention back to Adria. "I am afraid this is all for today. But, you have made great improvement." He said, giving her a warm smile and bowing out before he left, heading in the same direction the messenger came from.

Adria gave a smile in return and waved Arthur off. The instant he was out of sight, her smile dropped into a vexed frown. "A complete waste of a day." Adria mumbled to herself as she angrily picked up her bow, pointed it at the target, pulled back on the string, and then sent her arrow flying through the air at top speed. In the blink of an eye it crossed the field and landed smack-dab in the middle of the target.

Merlin, who was still watching Adria, saw the whole thing. His eyes widened as he watched with an astonished expression as the red-haired girl looked at him with her gray and blue eyes, an evil smirk curling at the corner of her mouth. She dropped her equipment onto the ground, and with one last menacing glare towards Merlin, stalked off the field. Seeing the spectacular shot she did made Merlin began to grow worried.

_Very_ worried.


	8. The Second Attempt

**Chapter 7: The Second Attempt**

An almost visible cloud of stench trailed after the manservant as he made his way throughout the castle, covered from head to toe in grime, hay, dirt, and some sort of mysterious brown substance that he felt was better left unknown. It had been several hours after Arthur's archery lesson with Adria and Merlin had been vigorously working on the chores the prince had ever so graciously ordered him to do. Ever since his mental war with the untrustworthy Adria his mood has been just shy of cheery and chipper, and being forced to do pointless chores for no reason simply caused his mood to spiral downward. That is why, after Merlin practically broke the door down while entering his and Gaius' chambers, the court physician did not receive a warm and affectionate greeting.

It was well past the time when Merlin was supposed to be home, so his absence – as well as his smell – caused Gaius to look at his ward with a face of worry. "Merlin, there you are! Why are you so late? . . . and what is that wretched smell?" he asked after he broke himself away from the concoction he was currently working on.

Merlin, who was just about to reach breaking point, aborted his plan to go straight to his room and turned to look at Gaius with an aggravated look contorted across his face.

"Why am I late? Well, perhaps it's because the royal prat of a prince is incapable of thinking about others and can only think of himself and his needs! It's not enough that he has to be rude and thoughtless most of the time, but now he has to be oblivious and refuse any warnings from anyone, no matter how urgent the warning may be!" Merlin began his tangent, pacing the room and throwing his arms up in a furious manner.

The baffled face on Gaius clearly stated that he was at a loss as to why Merlin had begun to yell at him. Obviously, something was on his mind. "Merlin, I – "

Merlin would not let him continue. "You can just forget trying to get him alone. No, he always has to be around _her._ Giving her archery lessons, talking to her, bending backwards to give her what she wants. When _I _try to say something, I just get a 'shut up, Merlin,' whereas when _she _says something, Arthur can't stop drooling! She's trying to kill him, but he's too thick to see it!"

"Who is trying to kill – ?"

"And the worst thing is I _have_ to find a way to save Arthur because it's my 'destiny.' How am I supposed to do that when he's prancing around with the enemy? I give up!" Merlin finally finished his rant, pacing the room one last time before looking over at his perplexed mentor.

"I am not sure why, but I have a feeling something is troubling you." Gaius calmly stated, unable to hide the smirk that sneaked out on the corner of his aged mouth. Catching the irritated an aggravated stare his ward was shooting over towards him, he continued in a more focused tone.

"Come. Sit." Gaius scooted over so Merlin could seat himself next to him. The young boy took in a deep breath so as to calm himself somewhat before he slid down in the seat Gaius had mentioned.

"Now, tell me; who is this woman you speak of?"

"Do you remember the girl that tried to kill Arthur and escaped?" Merlin asked his mentor, pausing for a moment so as to allow Gaius to respond. When the old man confirmed with a slow nod, Merlin continued his story in vivid detail, not leaving out a single fact. He explained how he saw her when she tried to first kill Merlin, then when he saw her at the feast. Next he went into detail about how Arthur, because of his cocky personality, invited her to extend her stay, and then decided to occupy all his time by giving her archery lessons and following her around like a lost puppy. The end of the story finally concluded with Merlin muttering something about Arthur being an oblivious, thick-headed prat.

Not having spoken a word during the whole story, Gaius looked at Merlin when he finished with an arched eyebrow. "Hmm . . ." he pondered, shifting his gaze to stare at a spot on the floor. Several anxious moments drifted by as Gaius went into deep thought, and without forewarning, asked a question without laying eyes on Merlin.

"Did you say she claims to be the other king's advisor?" Even though Gaius was not exactly fixated on his ward, Merlin still nodded in response to the question. Another "Hmm . . ." escaped from the older of the two men, but this time an "Interesting . . . quite interesting" was added to it. After a trice, Gaius stood up and resumed the concoction he was working on prior to their conversation.

"Well? Do you believe me?" Merlin asked with some hope. If anyone were to believe him, it was Gaius.

"Oh, yes, I am quite certain you are correct in your assumptions. However, I do not believe the king shall be so easy as to agree with you as I am without the proper evidence."

"Evidence?"

"Yes. I shall try to talk to the king tomorrow, but I am sure we need something to prove that Adria is not who she says she is." Gaius explained as he began to rummage through his cupboard for certain vials and liquids. Catching another whiff of Merlin caused him to cease his search and cover his nose in hopes of easing the pain from the strong stench. "We shall worry about this tomorrow," he began, looking at the young man from over his shoulder and examining him once more, "you should go to bed. But I implore you, take a bath first."

Merlin, also unable to stand the odor that emitted from his clothes, gladly left to relieve himself of the toxic smell.

———

The night after the archery lessons was not a comfortable one for Adria. Barely a few hours did she sleep; most of the night she was staring at the ceiling, unable to rest because of the whispers that percolated her dreams. She did not know what they were saying, nor did she know who was whispering to her, but that was what scared her the most. The whispers were eerie, menacing, and they almost sounded . . . . commanding; as if they were instructing her. Adria tried her best to ignore them, except the next morning she found that little sleep was hard to work off of. The bags under her eyes and the dizziness when she stood up too quickly proved just that.

One good thing seemed to come from her late night: she had decided, after racking her brain the whole night through, today was the day she would finally succeed in her task of disposing the prince. It was no mystery that she had to use the brown liquid her "Queen" gave her. But how? How was she going to get Arthur to consume the potion? She very well could not walk up to him and persuade him to drink a potion would be his ultimate demise. On no account would that work. No, she needed to be clever and think up a plan. . .

What type of plan she was going to execute came at a great loss to her. She could not do anything to draw attention to herself, nor could she get herself alone with Arthur for more than a minute. The infernal manservant just _had_ to know what she was up to; he just _had_ to be the type to actually care about his master's well being. Still, Adria was not all too concerned; she had great faith that she would devise a plan to finish her task and receive the accolade from her mother of which she deserves.

Just a few hours after the sun had gloriously risen over the golden horizon and Adria was already out walking the castle, fully dressed and on a mission. With her face contorted into a determined scowl, she sped down the hallways at a fast pace. Guards and servants had to literally jump out of her way so as to not be plowed over. At one point, Adria even went as far as ruthlessly throwing a girl out of her path. The lack of sleep she had plus the sheer determination of completing her task put Adria in a less-than-pleasant mood; of course, she already made it a plan to not let Arthur see her foul side. That was a vital part of the whole operation. As long as Arthur was not wary of her, she would be fine.

While most of the people simply jumped out of her way or watched her pass with little to no interest, there was one person who had given Adria a completely different reaction. A light-skinned woman with flowing brown hair was walking in the opposite direction as the red-headed woman. Eventually their paths had to cross, and when they did, there was almost a laser-like eye contact between them. The other woman watched Adria pass with an intent look on her face: her eyes narrowed, her jaw squared, and her eyes hard with challenge. Absentmindedly, Adria returned the look with as much force as possible, but she could not help but think what she had done to attract such an attitude. By the way the people were bowing their heads and referring to the woman as "my lady" when she passed, Adria assumed she was of regal position. She let the whole ordeal slide, however; she had more important things dwelling on her mind as she continued onward.

Still unable to form a complete plan in her head on how she was going to finish off Arthur – perhaps she would try the knife thing again – Adria made her way towards Arthur's royal chambers; it was still pretty early, so she thought it best to look for him in his chambers first. Adria rounded a corner and began to journey down the hallway which held the door to Arthur's quarters. But, as she looked up ahead of her, she saw something that suddenly stopped her in her tracks. Walking down the opposite end of the hall was a fairly tall boy with somewhat messy black hair and rather large ears: Merlin.

Adria immediately scrambled back around the corner and pressed herself up against the wall, sneaking a peek around the wall to see if Merlin had spotted her. Luckily, he was as oblivious as a goat. As she watched him make his way down the hallway, Adria examined him from head to toe, taking notice of the tray of food in his hands. An idea rapidly began to form within her mind. With a slow grin curling on the corner of her lips, Adria pulled back one of her sleeves on her dress and brought her hand level to her face.

"_Ibae oritho monsuail endae abellium."_

Adria whispered the spell as quiet as she could; taking care that no one overheard her. She drew in a deep breath before exhaling it onto her hand. A long strand of transparent blue mist streamed past her lips and engulfed her hand in a cloud, then quickly seeped into her skin and gave her hand a momentary blue glow. It stayed that way for several moments before morphing back to its normal color. Still grinning that famous evil grin, Adria looked back over and saw that Merlin was almost at Arthur's door. She was not sure if this spell would work – since this was the first time she had ever used it – but she thought it better than nothing. Pulling her sleeve back over her hand, Adria casually stepped out from behind the wall.

"Why, hello Merlin!" She called with a fake air of surprise and delight, hurrying towards the manservant so she could catch him before he entered the room.

When the boy caught sight of who had been calling him, a look of shock and fear spread across his face. Without even saying a word, he began to turn on his heel and head down the other way. Adria, however, grabbed his arm and forcefully turned him back around. "Oh, come now, Merlin. Is it not a great surprise to run into each other here?"

Merlin stared at her for a moment with a cautious look. "Sure," he agreed, although through suppressed teeth.

Even though Adria practically wanted to slap him across the face for all the trouble he has caused her, she still kept on a pleasant façade. "I was just about to go see Arthur myself. I take it that is his breakfast you are giving him?" she asked, casting her gaze down to the tray of meats and assorted fruits he was carrying.

Merlin studied her for a brief moment, wary of what she was asking. Almost as if he could see the plotting in her eyes, Merlin shook his head no and cleared his through. "Yes – I mean – no. No, actually, this is my breakfast. I was just taking it back to my chambers when I so happen to pass by Arthur's room." He said, stammering slightly and giving her the most un-convincing of smiles.

"Don't be foolish, Merlin – how about I take it? It would be no trouble at all," Adria said, slipping her fingers around the tray the manservant was holding. As was expected, Merlin's grasp immediately tightened.

"That is not necessary." Merlin tried to pry the tray away from her, but her grip tightened as much as his.

"Please Merlin, I insist. It would be much easier this way." Adria said, now in a full tug-o-war with Merlin. They both had strong grips, so the likelihood of one of them winning without some sort of aid was next to none. Adria very well knew this, which is why she took the hand with the magic spell in it and gently placed it on Merlin's own exposed hand. The moment she touched him a blue liquid began to seep from her skin, before swallowing Merlin's hand and disappearing down into his skin. Immediately, the color in Merlin's eyes disappeared and he became unresponsive. He just stood there, staring off into space, as if he had no sense of self awareness. The spell had worked.

"Give me the tray."

Merlin did as he was commanded and relinquished his grasp on the tray of food, allowing Adria to take hold of it. Once it was in her possession, Adria grinned in triumph and looked at her new puppet. "Now, I want you to walk straight down the hall and go back to your quarters. Lock yourself in your room and do not open for anyone. You seem tired," she added the last part in a taunting manner. Merlin, however, obeyed her order and turned around, making his way down the hall in an undead fashion. As soon as he disappeared down the next hallway, Adria let out a laugh of amusement. It did not last long, however; she had a task to accomplish. Putting on the fake persona again, she walked up to Arthur's door and rapped three times.

"Enter," came a groggy voice from within.

Adria pushed the door open with her back and entered the room, holding up the tray for Arthur to see. "Sorry to bother you sire, but I come baring your breakfast, because . . . because . . . " she began, but her voice trailed off when she saw the state Arthur was in.

Still with the appearance of being half asleep, Arthur was sitting upright on his bed, rubbing his face so as to ward off the morning weariness – without a shirt. Oh yes, he was shirtless. Adria's brain seemed to shut down the moment her eyes caught sight of him. She could not get her thoughts together, and that odd feeling from the archery lesson crept back once more; but this time, it was stronger and more overwhelming. The tingling sensation ran throughout her entire body, the knot in her stomach made her feel nauseous, and her face felt as hot as if she had a high temperature. Her grip on the tray even began to lessen some.

"Adria?"

His voice seemed to snap her out of the trance she was in. Finally forcing her eyes to look up at his face, she saw the questioning look he supported. "Oh – right, my apologies." She cleared her throat, "I am bringing you your breakfast because Merlin did not look so well. I told him he should take a few hours to rest – I hope this does not trouble you?" Adria asked, taking the tray and setting it on the dresser next to her, doing everything within her power _not_ to look at Arthur.

"No, no, it is just as well – he has been acting strange lately . . . well, stranger than usual." Arthur added with a bit of amusement, grabbing a piece of garment and slipping it over his strapping torso. While he grabbed the rest of his clothing and began to put them on, he took a moment to examine the red haired girl before nonchalantly commenting, "You look rather nice today."

As if she wasn't flustered enough, the comment completely caught Adria off guard. "I – I – th-thank you, sire." She gave a low bow, feeling the blood rush to her face once more. Desperate to change the subject off of her, and knowing she came in here for a specific reason, Adria motioned towards the plate of food, "Shall I fix this up for you, then?" she asked, and when she got a nod from Arthur, moved over to the tray.

With her back to Arthur, she looked down at the plate and took a deep breath. It was now or never. Adria reached into one of her sleeves and out slid the small brown vial of liquid. She examined it for a moment, and when she decided that it had to be done, pulled off the cork containing the thick liquid, then located the goblet of water on the tray. Adria took a quick look over her shoulder, and when she noted that Arthur was busy tying his shoes, turned back to the goblet and took a deep breath. For a moment – a fleeting moment – she questioned whether this was the morally right thing to do. But, the part of her that feared her mother screamed and begged her to do it, so she began to tip the vile downward.

Before any of the liquid could drip down into the water, Adria caught sight of something that made her heart stop for a moment.

Sitting on the dresser right next to her was the ragged knife she had previously used during her first attempt at Arthur's life. Recalling that she had dropped it after she was spotted, Adria wondered whether or not it could be traced to her. Could it? Could someone know who it belonged to? It seemed highly impossible, but it did not stop Adria from becoming flustered all over again.

"That was what the assassin used when she tried to kill me," Arthur said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, scaring Adria from behind for the third time.

Immensely startled, she began to lose her grip on the vile in her hands. A medium-sized drop of liquid spilled out from the vile, completely missing the goblet but splashing down onto the tray below. A low sizzling sound emanated from the liquid as it ate through the tray, leaving a gaping hole when it was done. Adria quickly grabbed the plate of food and slid it over the hole, so Arthur could not see it. "Sire?" she asked, skillfully putting the cork back in the vile and slipping it into the sleeve of her dress.

"You may have heard that someone attempted to take my life the other day. This was the knife she left when she fled." Arthur said in a tone that was now serious and grave; obviously, he was still upset that his assassin had "escaped."

"I am sorry to hear that. Here, your breakfast," Adria said, quick to change the conversation topic yet again. She grabbed the plate of food and goblet and set it down on the table for him to eat; exhaling a long breath of air she did so.

Well, there went that plan.

———

Merlin had slowly walked all the way through the castle and back to his quarters. He spoke to no one, looked at no one, nor did acknowledge anyone. He even passed by Guinevere at one point. She stopped and said a hello to him, but he completely ignored her and continued on his march. Merlin did not even turn around when she called him multiple times. He was still under the spell.

Gaius was still in their chambers as Merlin sauntered in. The older man looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Merlin what are you doing back so – Merlin?" The young boy had walked right past him, still on a course for his room. Gaius, seeing the empty look in his eyes, quickly crossed his path and stopped him. "Merlin, are you alright?"

No reply.

"Merlin? Merlin, look at me!" Gaius pleaded, but still no answer. Feeling that he needed to use drastic measures, Gaius put both of his hands on Merlin's shoulders and began to shake him vigorously. For a moment Merlin kept the same, empty look, but after several hard shakes he began to grimace.

"Ow! – Gaius – ow – stop it!" Merlin said, breaking away from Gaius and his firm grasp.

"What happened?" asked his mentor with a worried look on his face. Merlin looked at Gaius with a confused one of his own.

"I don't . . . I don't know. Last I remember I was with . . . with . . ." Merlin's voice trailed off, making Gaius even more worried.

"With? With whom, Merlin?"

Without a word, Merlin turned around and sped out the door. He ran at top speed down corridor after corridor, images of Arthur sprawled across the grown flashing through his mind. Last he remembered he was arguing with Adria and, if Merlin was correct, she had used some sort of enchantment on him so she could be alone with Arthur. No doubt she would seize the opportunity and attempt to kill Arthur again. Merlin would not let that happen.

Within several minutes, the warlock managed to traverse throughout the castle while running at top speed. When he finally reached the entrance to Arthur's chambers, he skidded to a halt and swung the door open as hard as he could.

"Arthur!" Merlin called out, quickly scanning the room to see if the prince was still alive. Both Arthur and Adria looked at him with confused expressions.

"Merlin, what is the meaning of – "

Arthur began to question why Merlin had burst into his room, but the manservant had taken notice of the goblet in Arthur's hand. "Don't drink that!" he shouted, and without thinking, Merlin lunged towards Arthur and, with a swift motion of his hand, knocked the goblet right out of his hands. The goblet soared upwards, splashing liquid all over the room. The cup hit something solid and fell right to the floor, landing with a loud, echoing sound.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed as he quickly stood up, trying not to let the water splash him. "You idiot, what did you do that for!?" Arthur looked at Merlin with a threatening look, but he did not get an answer in return. Merlin was looking past Arthur with a taken aback expression. Arthur followed his gaze and looked to where the goblet had landed. There, he saw Adria shivering, completely drenched with water from her head all the way down to the front of her dress. She was glaring at Merlin with a look that could easily kill the whole army of Camelot in one glance.

Arthur became infuriated. "You mindless _imbecile!_ Look what you have done!" Merlin parted his lips to speak, but the future king silenced him with a glare as deadly as Adria's. "What has gotten into that thick skull of yours? Are you that deranged?"

"But, sire, I – "

"Silence, Merlin! It is obvious that there is something wrong with you. Do not come back to work for me until you learn to behave yourself." Arthur thundered, looking more and more like his father with every passing second.

"Arthur, she was – "

"That was not a suggestion. Leave, before I put you in the dungeon."

Merlin looked over to Adria, then back to Arthur. He looked like he wanted to say something, but judging by the look Arthur was giving him, forwent the idea and sauntered out of the room with a defeated look across his face.

Perhaps Adria should have slapped him after all.


	9. Of Revelations and Darkness

**Chapter 8: Of Revelations and Darkness**

As the subjugated manservant reluctantly left the room on his master's orders, Adria watched him with intense, hateful eyes. It was not bad enough that she had the boy on her back day and night, preventing her from completing her task, but now he had the audacity to throw a goblet of water at her. What, did he think that if he poured water on her she'd disappear or melt, or some sort of stupid assumption like that? Adria was mere seconds away from muttering an incantation that would surely cause Merlin great pain, but Arthur's voice pulled her back into reality.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a worried expression. When Adria shifted her gray and blue eyes away from the door and towards Arthur, she noticed he was nigh but a foot away.

"Yes," she replied apathetically.

"Are you sure? Still, let me go get you something to dry off," Arthur chivalrously offered, pausing to momentarily brush a wet strand of hair away from her face before he turned on his heel to head out the door.

The moment Arthur's warm hand made contact with her cold, wet cheek, Adria felt as if a cocoon broke open inside her stomach and thousands of butterflies came tumbling out. If her cheeks weren't already a light pink color from the bitter cold of the drink, then they certainly were pink now.

"N-no," she barely croaked. After clearing her throat, she tried again, "No, my liege, that is not necessary. I shall simply go back to my chambers and change." Hearing this, Arthur turned around and looked at her with a quizzical look on his face. Just as he was about to protest, Adria cut him off and continued, "Thank you for your concern; it is appreciated. If you will excuse me," She bent her knees into a formal curtsy before faking a reassuring smile and leaving.

The moment - the exact moment her back was to Arthur - Adria's face wrinkled into a disdainful sneer. Not only had she failed – for the _second time _– her task of killing Arthur, but she kept finding herself feeling awkward in intimate situations with Arthur. The first time she felt discomfited was during the archery lessons when he practically enveloped her in his arms so as to correct her posture. Back then she was unsure of what that feeling was, but now she knew. She knew it was because she felt an attraction towards him. This feeling put Adria at a crossroads: should she embrace the feeling, or push it away and try her best to ignore it? The latter of the answers seemed to be the most logical choice for now, but she was still quite unsure. Her mind was racing, and she did not like it.

After Adria had closed the door to Arthur's room, she noticed someone scrambling down the hall in the other direction. When she got a good look at the back of the person she realized that it was Merlin who was attempting to get away from her. Adria deduced that, instead of leaving as he was told, the manservant had immediately pressed an ear to the wooden door in hopes of hearing the conversation between the prince and the "advisor to the king." Feeling a quick rush of anger build up within, Adria muttered a few foreign, incoherent words as she watched Merlin hurriedly make his way down the hall. The carpet under the servant's feet mysteriously jerked backwards and away from him, causing the tall boy to plunge down like a tree and land flat on his face. Failing to suppress a small, amused laugh, Adria quickly turned in the other direction and swiftly made her way down the hall.

---

When Adria had decided to forgo pursuing the feeling she got around Arthur, she had no inclination as to how difficult that would be. As next week and a half passed, she found it harder and harder to cast her thoughts towards killing Arthur, rather than just thinking about him in general. She also found it hard to refuse any offers he gave her, such as more archery lessons, tours of the kingdom, breakfast with him, or even to simply take a stroll around the fields. Once or twice she managed to come up with a somewhat believable excuse, but a large majority of the time she succumbed to him immediately.

Adria was beginning to like Arthur, and it was tearing her apart.

_I must not shirk my duties._ She scolded herself one night as she lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling since, again, she was unable to sleep because of whispers penetrating her dreams. _I must finish my task. I do not like Arthur._ _Perhaps . . . perhaps I don't actually feel anything for him. Perhaps it is simply because I have not been able to sleep. _Pausing for a moment, Adria scrunched her face and mentally scoffed to herself. Even she could not convince herself that she felt nothing for the prince. As much as she hated – no, feared – to admit it, she had acquired a strong fondness of Arthur.

Deciding to not spend her whole night wasting away in bed, Adria slipped out of bed and sneaked out of her room with the full intentions of taking a stroll through the castle halls. Many of the hallways were dimly lit with small torches or candles; Adria guessed the light was for the guards who roamed the castle at night – and she was right. Once or twice she passed a tired-looking guard dragging himself through the hall. The guards looked so out of it that, if she really wanted to, Adria could have taken them all out and seized several slumbering residents. Since birth she had been trained to do such a thing as that, but as of late all the desire to commit crimes and follow in her mother's footsteps has diminished. Turning left down a corridor, Adria let out a stressed sigh. She knew that she had to complete her task and kill Arthur, or else she would go through the worst punishment her "Queen" could think of. That sure-fire fact was perhaps the only thing that was keeping her from attempting to further her relationship with Arthur.

Speaking of the prince, about a half hour after Adria begun her journey through the castle, she heard a voice call to her from behind.

"Adria?"

This time, she did not jump clear out of her skin. She simply turned around and offered a warm smile to Arthur, as well as a curious face.

"Good evening, sire. May I ask why you are awake at such a late hour?" She inquisitively asked as they came within reaching distance of each other.

Arthur, after offering her his own smile, scrutinized the worn-out look on her face. "I could ask you the same question."

Seeing the expression on his visage, she attempted to give him a reassuring smile, but it faltered. "I found I could not sleep, so I decided to take a walk." For once, she had told him the absolute truth. There were stories she had to dance around, like where she came from, who her parents were, her life as she grew up, and – well, she practically had to dance around everything pertaining to her and her life. A painful thing she had to do, though sadly, she had to do it nonetheless.

She was not aware of it, but Arthur had taken a step closer to get a better inspection of her. Dark shadows lined her face and her eyes were slightly redder than was customary. "Are you feeling well?" he asked with an obvious tone of worry.

Adria wanted to confide in him everything. She wanted to tell him about the whispers she heard in her dreams, about how she was torn from the inside out, and about how much she despised his manservant for following her and Arthur everywhere they went. She wanted to do all of those things and more, yet she found that her fear of her mother prevented her from doing such a thing. So, she replied, attempting to give him another reassuring smile, "Certainly. Is there nothing wrong with taking a night to explore the castle?"

Arthur could not help but half-smile at her quick-witted rebuttal. "No, of course not. My apologies," the prince said, granting her one of his charming grins that practically made her heart stop for a fraction of a second. He had closed the distance between them yet again, and this time, she took full notice. They stood close together for several moments, no one saying anything. Both of them had seemed to slip into some sort of trance as she looked into his blue eyes and he into her blue/gray hues. Then, perhaps out of some impulse, Arthur did something that caught her off guard.

He leaned forward.

A series of emotions ran through her within the few moments it took him to close the remaining distance between them. Fear, joy, hatred, excitement – all of those sensations struck her so hard that she had no idea what she was to do. Half of her, the assassin half, hissed for her to take advantage of his weakness and do away with him right then and there, whereas her more human side shouted for her to meet him half way. She hesitated for a trice, then decided to listen to her human side and began to lean forward as well – but something stopped her.

The world began to spin. Adria's head felt as if all the blood was drained, and her legs began to give way. Everything was failing her. Her vision even started to fade; darkness began to creep in from the corners of her sight. The last image she saw was the handsome and suddenly troubled face of Arthur who had been extending an arm out to catch her as she stumbled backwards.

Then all became dark, and she remembered no more.


	10. A Witch's Threat

_I apologize for such a late update on this. Time just flew by! Anywho, I want thank all who read my story and review - you are the best! Srsly._

_~Ninja 8D_

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**Chapter 9: A Witch's Threat**

It was perfect. There she was, wandering the halls all by her lonesome. He could finally engage her without having something go wrong. No interruptions, no sudden distractions, and certainly no Merlin following them everywhere they went. What was with that, anyway? Why did Merlin force himself upon them? And why did Merlin physically flinch every time he heard her name? Arthur didn't know. He did know, however, that tonight was finally his chance with Adria.

Arthur had discovered that he felt an attraction towards Adria just some time after he met her. There was something about her – something different – that intrigued him, and he was determined to figure out more about this mysterious woman. So, very subtly, he began to hang around her more, invite her to walk with him, have dinner, and the works. It seemed to work, for she had rarely ever denied him her company. It all went well, except for the fact that Merlin trailed them like a dog. This irritated the prince, and no matter how many times he told Merlin to go stick his head in a lake, he still showed up. He thought there was no hope of ever being alone with her – until he found her walking the hall at night.

He planned on engaging her in a conversation. After that, he had no clue. He never expected he would lean forward and try to kiss her. In the heat of eye contact, Arthur suddenly felt the urge to close the distance in between them. Adria did not object, since she made no move to step away or slap him across the face. No, she would have probably kissed him . . . if she had not fainted. Before Arthur knew it, Adria's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her knees buckled, sending her tumbling backwards unexpectedly. Thankfully, the training Arthur had been giving all his life allowed him to quickly react by snaking an arm around her torso to prevent her from hitting her head against the floor. Once she had been securely wrapped in his arms, Arthur knelt down and propped her up against him.

"Adria? Adria!" he shouted, hoping that somehow his voice would penetrate her unconscious mind and wake her up.

Surprise, it didn't work.

Feeling a wave of panic beginning to course through him, Arthur tried calling her name once more, but it was to no avail. Finally getting the hint that yelling at her would not wake her up, he slipped one arm under her knees and hoisted her up into his arms. There was one person he knew that could figure out what was wrong with her, and he wasted no time in swiftly hurrying throughout the castle to the man's quarters.

"Gaius! Gaius, wake up!" Arthur kicked the wooden door with his foot, sending a reverberating sound throughout the halls. Several moments passed and no one answered. "Gaius!" he yelled again, sending another loud kick flying into the door. As he waited, Arthur continuously glanced down at the pale face of Adria. Every few moments the color of her skin grew whiter and whiter, and Arthur was afraid she would turn invisible if he waited any longer.

At long last, someone had managed to stumble to the door and open it up. Standing on the other side was Merlin; half of his face was red from sleeping on it, his hair looked unruly, and it was plainly obvious that he was still half asleep.

"Mother?"

Merlin's voice was groggy and he looked as if he was about to drop down onto the floor and fall right back asleep. Not even bothering to call him an idiot, Arthur commanded for him to clear the table off as he swept into the room. Even though he was still in a dazed mood, Merlin obeyed and fumbled over to the table in the middle of the room and clumsily shoved everything onto the floor.

"What is this? What is going on?" came another groggy voice. This time, it was the person Arthur was hoping for.

Arthur began to inform the older man on his dilemma, "Gaius, there is something wrong with her. She fainted and the color in her face is rapidly disappearing."

Gaius, obviously more alert than his drowsy ward, looked down at the young girl with a thoughtful expression. He did not immediately move to help her, on the contrary: he stood in silence for several painful moments, looking as if he was debating whether to help her or not.

"Gaius, please."

His eyes shifted over in Arthur direction, this time studying the young man's expression. Seeing the worried face the boy carried, Gaius sighed. "Merlin, go and get me a wet rag."

A loud shattering sound answered the physician. Both Gaius and Arthur shot their eyes over to where the noise had come from. Merlin guiltily stood by a pile of broken remains of what use to be an empty vile.

"Sorry," Merlin yawned before scrambling to get what Gaius had asked.

———

Darkness. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she couldn't feel. She was aware, and yet she felt she wasn't at the same time. Where was this? What happened? The last memory she recalled was being within the presence of Arthur. Was she stricken on the back of the head? Maybe she was dead. If she was, then where was she? Adria never expected the afterlife to be like _this;_ Dark, empty, and full of distant whispers.

For the first time in a long time, Adria was scared.

Quite suddenly, her full figure appeared in the center of the mass of darkness. Adria quickly examined her hands, turning them every way possible, and then moved on to feeling her body. She could feel her solid figure . . . yet it seemed as if it was all a dream - a horrible, horrible dream. As well as she could see through her own eyes, she could also see an outside visual as she stood peering into the darkness.

"_Why haven't you finished it yet?" _A loud, yet distant voice resonated all around her.

Adria, already flustered from her current situation, said the only thing that came to mind. _"Finished what?" _she asked the voice without moving her lips; her own voice echoing from a distance.

"_The task, the task! Why have you not completed it?" _the distant voice screeched from afar, obviously not in a pleasant mood.

"_I – I don't know." _Adria stammered, yet again not having to move her mouth.

This time, the voice's tone was sarcastic. _"You don't know?" _

"_I – I – "_

"_You have failed me, then."_

At that moment, Adria let out a long, exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. She knew exactly of whom she was speaking to.

"_I shall give you once last chance. Finish the task within a day's time, or pay the consequences."_

The voice's already far away sound began to fade as well as everything else, but Adria had clenched her fists in anger.

"_No."_

"'_No'?" _ Repeated her mother, or "Queen" as she is more commonly known. _"What do you mean by 'No'?"_

"_I will not do it."_

A pause.

"_Twenty-four hours. Do it or – "_

"_I will not kill Arthur; and as long as I am alive, you won't either."_

"_You dare defy me?!" _Her mother hissed; her voice now so loud Adria grimaced. Dark purple clouds began to form and swirl above her.

"_I am under your command no more."_

"_Traitor! You would let your petty emotions get between you and your own flesh and blood? Insufferable wench! Either finish him, or eternally suffer!"_

"_No!"_

"_KILL HIM!"_

A large image of the mother abruptly appeared before Adria. If her mother had not looked sinister enough, her eyes were outlined with dark shadows and purple bolts of lightning began to erupt all around her. Adria screamed as thousands of black specks began to shoot towards her, each and every one stinging her skin as if she had been bitten by thousands of bugs. Darkness then took over, and everything was black once more.

---

Adria awoke and shot up to a ninety-degree position, a blood-curdling scream echoing throughout the room. She clawed at her skin in a frantic attempt to rid of the tingling sensation stuck beneath her exterior. Completely petrified, Adria began to hastily examine her surroundings. She did not know where she was at first, but when she saw an older man nonchalantly staring at her she knew where she had been taken.

"Gaius? What – ?"

"You fainted." He interrupted, not looking the slightest bit worried about her frantic state. Without any prompt, he grabbed her hand and placed a cold, wet towel in her palm. At first, Adria arched an eyebrow and looked at the towel with suspicion. But when she lifted her free hand and placed it on the top of her forehead, she felt how clammy she was and immediately knew what the towel was for.

"Arthur brought you here last night," Gaius began, standing up and traversing over to one of his bookshelves while Adria cooled herself down, "and as far as I know, there are no symptoms as to why you suddenly collapsed. In my opinion, you are safe to go. I suggest you go to Arthur, however; he was quite worried about you and was very reluctant to leave when he was called by his father."

Adria felt an uneasy knot form within her stomach. Just by the way Gaius was treating her she knew that Merlin had informed him of his suspicions. Not wanting to debate with the court physician, she nodded and slipped off the table. Her legs wobbled, but other than that she was able to stand and make her way out.

"Miss Adria," Gaius called, causing her to abruptly stop right as she was about to grab the door, "It has come to my attentions – and almost everyone else's – that Arthur is rather fond of you."

She was unsure of what his point was, but when she made a move to speak, he stopped her with a hard stare. "You should know that if you harm Arthur in any way, there shall be no place for you to hide."

That was unexpected. Adria looked at Gaius with a slightly fearful expression. He, however, simply turned away from her and searched through her books. Taking this as her queue to leave, she grabbed the rough black doorknob and left the room.

She began to make her way throughout the castle, walking at a fast pace as she did so. Whenever she passed someone, she put on a faux façade and gave them a nod or a smile. But when she turned down a corridor that was empty, her face broke down and she burst into a run. Adria was obviously troubled by her dream and the warning from Gaius. She was scared and confused. She didn't know what she could do. Do what her mother said and kill Arthur, the man she has come to love, or face the unbearable wraith of her punishment. She didn't know.

She just didn't know.

What she did know, on the other hand, was that she needed to get rid of the one thing that had been tormenting her for weeks. It was a small object, and whenever she laid eyes on it, a sharp pain twanged within her stomach. It had to be disposed of, she decided. Adria ran throughout the castle until she reached her quarters. She forced herself through the door and swiftly crossed the room without thinking. A lone black dresser was standing in the corner. She went to the said dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. At first glance one would assume that the drawer was full of nothing but neatly-folded pieces of cloth. Under the piles of cloth, however, was something very significant. Adria began to tear through the drawer, throwing pieces of cloth behind her in a careless fashion. Her focus was on the small object, and nothing else. Once she got deep enough she was able to stick her hand into the drawer and retrieve a small velvet bag. For a moment she examined the bag to make sure it was the exact one she was hiding. When it was confirmed, she quickly turned around and fled out the door.

———

Gaius had resumed his duties once his patient had exited the room. He showed no signs of worrying or being anxious, but instead imperturbably began to make his potions which were to be delivered at a later date. No sooner did he finish his first small vile when his ward entered the room; Merlin had come to check up on the situation with Adria.

"She's gone." Merlin stated after looking at the empty table.

"Very good Merlin," Gaius said sarcastically, although without a sardonic tone.

The younger boy looked at the physician with a less-than-amused expression. "What happened?" he asked as he turned his attention back to the lone table.

"She woke up screaming. Nothing seemed to be wrong, so I sent her on her way." Replied the mentor, again with a tone that showed he lacked any interest that she had awoken with a fright. Merlin looked as if he was going to speak, but Gaius continued to talk, "Although I did see something interesting when I was examined her this morning. She has a scar right here," he pointed to the upper part of his forearm, indicating to the spot where her scar was.

Merlin looked at Gaius for a moment with a puzzled expression. It took him a moment, but it finally registered in his head. "The scar from the knife wound the first time she tried to kill Arthur!" he exclaimed, receiving a nod from Gaius.

"I believe so. I am afraid this may not be enough evidence to pin on her, but it is definitely – "

"Gaius?"

Both the men turned to look at who had entered. Morgana was peering from behind the door, and when Gaius had said she could enter, she stepped into the room.

"I came to pick up my sleeping draught."

"Of course," Gaius said before moving over to his cabinet.

Morgana looked at the deep-in-thought Merlin. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, Morgana, you are interrupting nothing of importa – "

"We have evidence on Adria." Merlin blurted out, ignoring the raised eyebrow from Gaius.

"You do?"

"Yes. When I first saw the assassin in Arthur's room, she had cut herself on her arm with her knife on accident. Gaius found a scar on Adria that in the exact same place as where the assassin would have hers."

Morgana silently looked at both of them for several moments, then turned to Gaius who had just handed her the potion. "You believe she is the one, then?"

Gaius nodded solemnly. "Indeed I do. I don't believe Uther will have our same views unless we have better evidence, I'm afraid. Anyone can have a scar on their arm. I think that if we can find something more solid we could – "

Without warning, Morgana hurriedly left the room, leaving the two boys to stare at the door in confusion.

———

Adria rushed down corridor after corridor, holding her small bag in her hand as tight as she could. She fought hard to keep tears away, but she was still shaken up from her previous experience. Still, she hurried as fast as she could, wanting to get rid of the item within the small bag. Adria knew that Arthur would have wanted to see her right away, yet she felt this had to be done before she could resume with her life. This object was torturing her, and she finally wanted to get rid of it once and for all.

Finally making out into the fields, Adria rushed past all the knights and knights-in-training, trying her best to keep on a normal appearance but ultimately failed. She did not care, though, for she continued to hurry on. At last she got to her destination: a small, somewhat enclosed area full of trees and bushes. Adria crouched down and dug her hand into the small bag. When she pulled her hand out, she had a small vile full of brown liquid resting between her fingers. It had been given to her weeks ago by her mother and had tormented her ever since. She had the desperate need to dispose of it, and that is what she did. Pulling the cork off of the vile, Adria slowly began to tip it and allowed the thick liquid to slowly ooze out. It dripped down to the ground, burning the grass as it made contact. It sizzled then dissolved, leaving no evidence that it was there except for the brown patches of grass. Adria allowed the toxic potion to empty about halfway before her emotions overcame her. She was going to pay hard for this, and the thought of her punishment frightened her to such a point that her hand began to shake and she dropped the vile. Now with her face covered in tears, Adria pressed her hand over her mouth and dashed away, completely overcome with emotion.

———

Morgana watched as the red-headed woman sprinted away from the small cluster of bushes in a flurry. Why Adria was running, Morgana was unsure, but what she was sure of was that the other woman was doing something mysterous over by the bushes. When Gaius had mentioned that they truly suspected Adria of trying to kill Arthur, she decided to waste no time and to follow the girl. Before Morgana had entered the court physician's chambers, she saw Adria running past with a troubled look. She thought not much of it at first, yet now she was suspicious.

As soon as Adria had disappeared behind the castle doors, Morgana swiftly made her way across the field and over to where Adria was crouching down. For several moments she searched the small area, pulling bushes apart to see if she could find anything. Then, she saw it. Right next to a large patch of burnt grass was a three-quarter full vile of what looked like brown liquid. Taking the utmost care not to touch the leaking liquid, Morgana picked up the vile and examined it closely.

Deciding that the potion must immediately be taken to Gaius, Morgana hid the vile from sight and hurried back to the court physician's chambers.


	11. The Jig Is Up

**Chapter 10: The Jig Is Up**

She ran, ran, ran, as fast as her well-trained legs could carry her. Down corridors, up stairs, past people – she ran through them all. A large wave of emotion threatened to immobilize her, and she wanted to be in the privacy of her room when that happened. Adria had just gone through a huge breakthrough by disposing the vile her mother had bestowed upon her, which now put an emotional burden upon her soul. The future was now a closed book to her. Without a doubt her mother would learn of her traitorous actions. Would she come to kill Adria, her own daughter? Even if she did manage to evade her mother for the rest of her life, could she really expect to make a home in Camelot and act as if nothing ever happened when there were so many wary of her? Thousands of questions swam inside her confused head, and she could not find an answer for any of them.

Adria ran for what felt like three hours, even though it was only several minutes. Eventually she made it back to her chambers, where she quickly entered before slamming the door shut. From there, Adria seated herself on her soft, plush bed. Gingerly placing her head in her hands, she began to cry like she had never cried before.

———

"Interesting . . . very interesting . . ."

"Can you identify it?" Morgana asked, hopeful that the answer would be in her favor.

Gaius held the three-quarter empty vile up to eye level, swishing it back and for so as to examine it.

"Hmm . . ."

"Gaius?"

He looked over at Morgana, who was gesturing towards the vile he was holding. "Hmm? – Oh, my apologies. I cannot identify it simply by looking at it, no." Seeing the disappointed look which swept across the lady's face, he continued, "I can, however, run a test and, hopefully, figure out what this is. Now, you said you saw the grass had burned where the liquid made contact?"

Morgana nodded, "Yes, there were large patches of brown grass when I picked it up."

"Interesting . . ."

"What's interesting?" Merlin entered the room, catching the tail end of Morgana and Gaius' conversation.

"Lady Morgana found this, which we think may be vital to our operation." Gaius explained. Morgana nodded.

Merlin studied the brown liquid for a moment, squinting his eyes so to get a better look. "Okay . . . am I supposed to be impressed or something?"

Gaius let out an exasperated sigh. Morgana stepped in, "It was Adria who had tried to dispose of it, but as she tried to pour it out, she began to cry and then ran off. I brought it back to Gaius to see if he can identify what it is. I believe it to be something she planned on using on Arthur."

At these words, Merlin looked over to Morgana and raised an eyebrow. "You mean you believe me now?"

She could not help but smile slightly, "Yes, Merlin, I believe you now."

"Now, all we need is the king to believe you, Merlin." Gaius interrupted as he began to grab the necessary tools. "Hopefully, for Arthur's sake, this won't take long . . . ."

———

Arthur briskly walked down the corridors of the castle. Since the previous night's incident, he had been unable to keep his mind on anything else but Adria. He was quite frustrated when he was pried from her side, but he knew Gaius would send her to him once she was well . . . he would do that, right? Shaking the thought off, Arthur shirked his duties paced the hallway, seeing as he was incapable of keeping his mind on anything for longer than a few moments. During his tenth time pacing the hall, Arthur saw a blur run past the end of the corridor. He was unsure of what it was, so he gave in to his curiosity and headed towards the end of the hall. When he poked his head out, he saw the last part of a foot rounding the corner of another corridor. Arthur was about to go investigate when he heard a groan next to him. There, lying on the ground was a young servant girl who had, obviously, been knocked over by the blur.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked, not even hesitating to help her up.

"I – I – yes, thank you, sire." The young girl stammered; she had never been spoken to by the prince.

"What happened?"

"A – a – I –" the girl looked down at her shoes, unable to work up the courage to openly speak to Arthur. He urged her on, however, and was able to get a few more words out of her. "A – girl with dark red hair, sire. She – she – she seemed upset."

Arthur looked at the girl for a moment, trying to figure out why the description sounded so familiar. Then, it snapped into place. Without warning, Arthur bolted down the hall, leaving the stammering young girl behind.

He followed the 'girl with dark red hair' throughout the castle, barely catching which hall she kept entering. After some while she had entered her room, allowing him to stop and catch a quick breath before knocking furiously on the large wooden door.

"Adria, it's Arthur!" He said, knocking as loud as he could, for her sobs were drowning him out. When he heard nothing, Arthur tried again.

"Open up! Adria, Adria!"

———

Merlin and Morgana stood outside of Gaius' chambers, waiting for the final conclusion. The two would have been inside with Gaius, but they had continuously asked questions, annoying the physicist to the point where he casted them out of the room. So, there they stood, waiting and hoping that they could finally expose Adria for who she was.

"Merlin," Morgana began after moments of silence, "I have been thinking . . . if her motives were to kill Arthur, why hasn't she done so yet? Have there not been many times when she could have killed him by now?" asked she, her eyes transfixed on a wall while she was in deep thought.

To this, Merlin just looked her with a puzzled face. In truth, Merlin was wondering the same question. "I don't . . . I don't know. Perhaps –"

"Morgana, Merlin, come in!" Gaius' muffled voice exclaimed from behind the closed door.

They both looked at each other for a moment, and then Merlin opened the door and allowed Morgana to enter first. "Did you figure out what it was?" Merlin asked with a hopeful tone, looking at the vile in Gaius' hand.

"I am pleased to say that I have identified the potion." He said, causing the two to smile. He continued, but with a grave face. "I am not pleased, however, to figure out what the potion actually does."

Both Merlin and Morgana looked at Gaius with a slightly worried face. "What do you mean?" Asked Morgana.

"This potion," Gaius began, walking around the table, "is used only by those who wish to kill another. You recall the potion that you consumed which rendered you severely ill, Merlin?"

Making a face at the memory, Merlin nodded, "How could I not?"

Gaius almost smiled. "That was a pretty powerful potion – but this is much, much worse."

"Worse? How?" Morgana asked, not quite following.

"When this potion touches any surface – and I mean _any_ surface – it burns the object until there is nothing left. Now, that sounds bad already, but that is just the half of it. When this potion is consumed while mixed with any liquid, it kills the consumer."

Morgana placed a hand over her mouth to cover up a gasp. "It kills them? How long do they have once they drink it?"

"They die the instant the potion enters their body. There is no cure."

"Then we must tell the king!" Merlin eagerly exclaimed, his stomach forming a large knot just by listening to Gaius explain the purpose of the brown liquid.

"I agree; anyone with this type of potion in their possession can only use it for evil. Come, we must leave immediately." And with that, the three left to go speak with the king.

———

"Adria, Adria! Let me in!"

No matter how many times he yelled, banged the door, or threatened to knock it down with a small army, Adria did not want to open up. Her emotions were in a fragile state, and she needed time; time to think about what path she was going to take. Her first thought was to escape Camelot and hide in some other kingdom. She could hide her unique red hair and change her name, that way it would be harder for her mother to locate her. Or, perhaps, she could return back to her home and take her punishment. . . . No, no, she wouldn't do that. She surely would receive the worst punishment her mother could give. Just thinking about it gave her a tingling sensation down her spine. Maybe she could . . . she could . . .

"Adria! Are you alright? Adria!"

Finally shifter her gaze to the door, she watched as Arthur continued to pound his heart out. She could barely suppress a smile. Maybe she could stay, after all. Arthur seemed to care enough to allow her to stay indefinitely. Contemplating this idea, she continued to watch as the door began to shake due to Arthur's loud poundings. After a few moments of watching, she broke out into a sob once more. She came to the conclusion that, no matter how much her heart wished her to stay, it would never be. Merlin already knew of her secret, she was sure. It would only be a matter of time that she was captured and burned alive. Still, she could not help but feel the need to be comforted by the only person who deeply cared for her. Muttering a quick spell, Adria turned her back to the door and tried to dry her face with her hands.

Arthur immediately burst into the room. He stumbled because he did not expect the door to unlock quote-so-suddenly, but caught himself before his face met the floor. Casting a wary glance to the door, Arthur turned his attention towards the one thing that really mattered; Adria.

"What happened? Why wouldn't you open up?" he immediately asked, maneuvering around the bed so he could get a better look at her. She turned her head away so her dark red hair would cover her face, yet Arthur was smart enough to gently grab her and make her face him. Adria's eyes were full of water and her face was almost as red as her hair. Arthur frowned, "Who did this to you?"

Again, she could not help but smile slightly. "N-no, nothing of the sort. It's just . . just . ." Taking in a deep breath, she covered her mouth and began to sob once more.

Not being very skilled in comforting women, Arthur simply stared at her for a moment and watched as she had a breakdown. He didn't know what action to take next, so he took heed of what his urge was telling him. Clearing his throat, Arthur seated himself next to her and gently slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"I don't – I don't – know what to do, Arthur . . . I – I just don't know." She sobbed, burying her face into Arthur's chest.

———

Gaius, Merlin, and Morgana entered through the large wooden doorway; all had focused looks on their face.

"Gaius, Morgana, it is always a pleasure to see you. What is your business?" Uther pleasantly stated, looking up from his pile of parchment.

"I'm afraid our business is not pleasurable, my lord." The court physician said which in turn received nods from both Merlin and Morgana.

"Really? What troubles you, then?"

"We believe the advisor to King John is an imposter." Morgana piped in.

Uther had an almost skeptical look upon his face. "How so?"

"First, we have a witness who saw the advisor as the one who tried to kill Arthur. Second, Morgana saw her leave behind a vile of brown liquid, which I believe to be one of the most – "

"Her? What do you mean, 'her'?"

Gaius looked puzzled at Uther's sudden interest in gender. "Well, my lord, she _is _a woman – "

"That's impossible," Uther shook his head with a scoff, "I know John's advisor – Ulric is his name. Unless I suddenly cannot distinguish man from woman, he is indeed a male. A female advisor? I've never heard of such an absurd concept."

A loud _slap_ suddenly echoed throughout the large room, causing everyone to turn their attention to the source of the sound. They found that it was the manservant, Merlin, who had swiftly smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. When they all gave him bewildered looks, he replied with three simple words.

"Arthur, you prat."

———

"It's – it's okay . . ." Arthur mumbled, holding Adria close. He was fine and dandy with the physical comfort, but he was never the world's foremost leading expert on emotional comfort. So, he simply patted her shoulder and kept her inside his warm embrace.

"N – no it's not okay!" Adria pried herself away from his grip (although she hated leaving his safe embrace) and moved to the opposite corner of the room, her face now redder than ever. "It is my mother . . . she wants me to something – something horrible. And – and if I don't she will surely kill me, if I'm lucky. I don't know what to do, Arthur . . ." she attempted to hold back her tears once more, but they just came spluttering out. Adria quickly turned her back to the prince and silently cried into her hands. Almost instantly, a hand gently touched her shoulder and made her turn around. Arthur stared back at her with a tender expression.

"Adria," he softly began, bringing his thumb up to try and dry her red cheeks, "as long as you reside here in Camelot, I shall protect you."

A large wave of relief washed throughout Adria at those words. He cared for her, he really did. With a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, she whispered "thank you."

Quite suddenly, the distance between them closed as Arthur leaned forward, finally finishing what he had started the previous night. He had gently placed a kiss on her red lips. Once she got over the initial shock and her heart started back up, Adria happily returned the kiss. Finally, she felt safe. She felt joy. She felt bliss.

Pure bliss.

It was like nothing she had imagined. The rush of adrenaline coursing throughout her veins, his warm embrace, it all was absolutely wonderful. She wanted it to last forever, yet in the back of her mind she knew something was going to break them apart. Nothing this wonderful could ever last. Her prediction was right. In a matter of moments, King Uther charged into the room with a raged expression, causing the two to pull apart.

"Seize her."

Several guards had entered the room, two of which pushed their way past Arthur and took hold of Adria's arms. She tried to scramble away, but the strength of the two men proved too much for her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur protested, completely outraged.

"That woman is a witch. She is the one who tried to kill you and she has been planning your demise this whole time, so she shall be burned."

"That's insane! Father, do you hear yourself? She is not a witch! Adria is an innocent woman who – " Arthur began on a rant, but his voice trailed off and died when he saw the guilty look Adria was carrying.

"Arthur, please, you must understand! It was not me – I mean, I did not – I never wanted to – "

"Put her in the dungeons. She shall be burned tomorrow." Uther commanded. The guards dragged Adria away with ease, no matter how much she squirmed and protested.

"Please, Arthur, I beg you, listen to me! Arthur!" Adria tried to free herself from the men's grasp, but she failed miserably. She was forced out of the room; just barely catching one last glimpse of Arthur's shocked face. Deciding that it was of no use, she let herself go limp and allowed the guards to drag her down the corridor. By the time they got halfway, Adria had come to the conclusion that she was not going to allow herself to be killed. Looking up at the two men, she scowled. Without warning, she swung her leg under one man, and then brought her elbow up to the second one's face, sending both of them hurdling to the floor. Uther and Arthur obviously heard this, for they both ran out of the room just in time to see her escaping down the hall.

"Guards, sound the alarm! Find that woman!"

Although she was weak from her emotional breakdown, Adria still ran through the castle with speed and elegance. Several guards rounded corners, forcing her to take a sharp turn down the nearest hallway. More and more guards enclosed on her, and at one point she seemed as if she was stuck. Several groups of guards marched on either side of the hallway, disallowing her to go either left or right. But, the corridor beside her was wide open. At the very end of that said corridor was an open window. Adria knew that it was her chance to escape and begin the new life she was thinking about. Even though it pained her to have to leave Camelot and Arthur, she knew she was dead if she didn't. So, she ran down the hallway just as the men were arms length away. Fast as a horse, she was, and in no time she was only five yards away from the window, and only five yards from freedom. Closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .

_Wham!_

A long, silver arm had appeared from behind the corner of the wall. It hit Adria square in the face, sending her in a backwards somersault. The hard ground made contact with her back as she landed, sending pain to shoot up from all places. She was dizzy. She couldn't see. Adria was mere moments away from blacking out, yet she forced herself to open her eyes and see who it was that had bested her. At first she thought her mind was playing tricks, but when her eyes fully focused, she saw who had knocked her down. Letting out a moan of pain, she allowed the darkness to engulf her.

The last image she saw was of Arthur, standing over her with a metal glove on his arm and an angry, disappointed expression across his face.


	12. Visiting Hours

**Chapter 11: Visiting Hours**

It was dark. There was pain; lots and lots of pain . . . in her head, to be more specific. Where was she? Why wasn't she aware of her surroundings? Did she actually die this time? If so, where did she go? Adria never thought that the afterlife would smell so much like manure, nor did she imagine that the floor would feel like it was caked with a thick layer of dirt. Wait a minute . . . Forcing herself to open her eyes, Adria realized that she had not died, but worse. She was in the dungeons. The pain in her head throbbed as she pushed herself up to sit, letting out a groan as she did so. Another quick inspection of the small room she was in confirmed that she had, indeed, been placed in the dungeons after her failed attempt at an escape. Now that she knew where she was, more questions formulated within her head. What was her fate? As she had feared, she had been discovered. Now what? The obvious answer was that she was going to die. More precisely, she was going to be burned alive. She was going to die . . .

"Is it true?"

Being pulled away from her thoughts, Adria whipped her head around to see who had spoken. A tall figure was silhouetted behind the bars of the cellar.

"Arthur!" she exclaimed, not knowing whether she should be pleased about his visit or concerned.

"Is it true? Everything my father said – you being a witch, you trying to kill me – are they true?

A long sigh escaped through Adria's nose. She knew that she could not run from her true nature any longer. "Yes," she whispered, almost choking over the word. When he silently stared back at her with a hard look, she continued, "You have to believe me, Arthur, I have changed!"

He snorted, obviously unconvinced.

"Please, just listen. I – I was sent here to kill you, yes, but the longer I stayed the more I realized that it was not what I wanted. You showed me that I wanted a simple life; one where I did not have to run away from my evil deeds." Adria finished and took a big gulp to help push down the tears which threatened to leak through. Not only did she have her impending doom hanging over her, but the look of pure disappointment Arthur was giving her sent her emotions over the top.

After several seconds of silence, he spoke. "So you admit it: you are a witch and an assassin."

She looked at him through watery eyes for several painful moments. "Yes." Again, that word was hard to get out. "Except, that was the old Adria. Arthur, you must believe me!" Desperate to have him on her side again, she pushed herself up off of the floor and traversed over to him, grabbing the bars when she got close enough. She had gotten so close that she could clearly see his stern, unchanging face, and he could easily see the grime which outlined her own features. The two guards, which were stationed by her cell, stepped closer as if to push her away from the future King, but Arthur lifted up a hand and they backed off. Clearing her throat, she continued, but this time lowering her voice so only he could hear.

"During my stay here, I have come to love Camelot . . . almost as much as I have come to love you."

For a fleeting moment, Adria swore that she saw his expression soften in response to her words, but the moment passed and his face was as spiteful as ever.

"Well then," he began, his eyes locked on hers, "you shall die knowing your love is not returned."

And with those last words, Arthur turned on his heel and left, leaving Adria to fall down on her knees, crying and in pieces.

---

A few hours had passed since Arthur's visit and Adria finally got herself back together. After her meltdown she had gotten an idea, and thus began to follow out the said idea. She was huddled over in a far corner, leaning over something she was working on. For the most part she was silent, except a few times she muttered a few disjointed sentences, which would have made no sense to anyone else, save for those who studied under magic. Adria had taken to muttering to herself for the fifth time when another voice had pulled her back into reality.

"How did you do it?"

Turning her head slightly so she could hear the recognizable voice better, she raised a hidden eyebrow. "Do what?"

"How did you disappear after you jumped out Arthur's window? Did you turn invisible, or was there some sort of dark magic involved?" Asked the only other person besides the prince who would have witnessed Adria's first escape: Merlin.

Adria turned herself around fully, so to look at the tall boy clearly. Seconds passed by in silence as they looked at each other, each refusing to break the laser-like gaze they held. The silence was then broken when the prisoner burst out laughing.

"You mean to say that you think, because I am such a powerful sorceress, I am able to turn invisible at will?" she asked in return, unable to hold in the fit of giggles welling up inside. For the first time in many moons, Adria was actually laughing. "Merlin," she began, trying to stifle her laughs, "I do not attempt to deny the fact that I indeed possess magical abilities, but to be able to disappear? That is something not even I can accomplish."

Merlin's face had turned red from embarrassment. He cleared his throat, "Then, how did you vanish?"

Looking at him with an amused grin, she replied, "I am very good at hiding, I can tell you that. Hiding is one skill that does not need to be aided by magic."

Merlin stood there for a moment, looking as if he had been hit with the idiot stick. He simply responded with an "oh" and turned to leave, but Adria had stopped him.

"Merlin – Merlin, wait," she quickly fussed with something in the corner, then got up and headed over to the bars. "I know that you hate me, and that you have been wary of me since the beginning, but I have one favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" he asked, unsure that he had heard her correctly.

"Yes. I want you to give this to Arthur," Adria slipped her hand through the bars and held out a slightly crumpled piece of rolled up parchment. Merlin stepped away and scrutinized it, almost making her laugh again. "Do not worry, it is not enchanted; a mythical creature will not jump out when opened. I even give you permission to read it, if it makes you feel safer. But please – just make sure he gets it."

Merlin looked at her sincere face, then down to the roll of parchment, then back to her once more before gently slipping it out of her hands. Once it was relieved from her grasp, she smiled slightly and whispered, "Thank you."

Without another word, he simply nodded and walked off, stealing a glance over his shoulder after he was several yards away. It was at that point that he looked as if he began to doubt his decision. . .

---

"Adria. Adria, wake up."

Right above her, Adria heard a voice whisper into her ear. Waking up with a jolt, she looked up at who had taken the liberty to enter her cell and wake her up. To her great surprise, Arthur was the one standing over her.

"Come, we are leaving." He whispered, holding out a hand for her to grasp. Smiling, Adria wasted not a moment before she slipped her delicate hand into his own, rougher one. He pulled her up off the floor and gently led her out of the dungeon, glancing over his shoulder every-so-often to check for guards.

A wide smile stretched across Adria's face as she followed Arthur, her hand intertwined with his. For a moment she thought this must have been some sort of illusion, but no, he was actually taking her away from her imprisonment. Perhaps there was hope for her after all. "Does this mean you forgive me?" she asked with a pleading face.

Arthur turned to look at her over his shoulder. He said nothing, but smiled slightly. Something was off about his smile, yet Adria was too engrossed in her excitement to notice. They walked throughout the castle without running into a single soul. Adria again found this to be odd, but again shrugged it off because she was too occupied with Arthur. She was so occupied, in fact, that she allowed him to lead her around blindly, and it was not until they traversed down the entrance of the castle did she realize where they were. Glancing around at her surroundings, Adria found that there was still not a soul to be found, but instead a lone platform in the middle of the courtyard. A large wooden pole protruded from the wood and was laced with chains. Seeing the platform, Adria's eyes grew wide. Arthur wasn't saving her.

He was going to burn her.

"No..," she whispered, attempting to pull her hand away from his but his grip had suddenly tightened immensely. With his deathly grip on her, Arthur dragged her up to the platform and threw her against the pole.

"Arthur, please, don't do this!" She cried, desperate to free herself from his inhumane grasp.

"Guards," he called, and out of thin air two large men appeared and kept her pressed against the pole. Arthur then began to chain her up, all the while ignoring her pleas and cries to let her go. Adria had even offered to leave Camelot and never return, but Arthur simply gave her a grin in return. Once her chains were in place, he picked up a lit torch out of nowhere and held it in front of her.

"Say goodbye," growled Arthur as he dropped the flame-lit torch at her feet. With a loud, roaring noise, the fire rapidly curled around her feet like a snake. Flames licked the bottom of her dress and smoke began to rise up, filling her eyes with ash and causing her vision to go blurry. The heat got worse and, no matter how many times she called to Arthur, he made no move to help her. Finally, after many moments of screaming, the lack of oxygen got to Adria and she could not breathe. She felt like a fish out of water, struggling for a simple breath of air. She could feel her lungs fill up with more and more smoke with every passing second. Finally, when it got to be too much for her, she relaxed her muscles and forwent the whole thing. She could not fight it any longer. Slowly closing her burning eyes, Adria allowed death to take over her body. That was it. She was gone . . .

"Arthur!" Adria screamed, waking up with a start, swatting at her body to get rid of the flames that threatened to burn her alive. She clawed and clawed until she came to the realization that she was not being eaten by flames, nor was she even on the platform. Instead she was back in her cell, still half asleep and dirty as ever. Still in a frantic state, she glanced all around her surroundings to make sure that she really _didn't_ die, but was dreaming yet again. Once her suspicions were conformed, Adria fell onto her back and took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. It was just a dream, she told herself, just a dream.

All of a sudden, a distant thumping sound reverberated through the halls. Several grunts followed the sound, then nothing. It sounded like someone, hopefully the guards, had been knocked out. Without even having to ask the question, Adria knew exactly who had stealthily disposed of the guards. Grunting, she turned over on her side and closed her eyes, hoping that if she wished enough the person would just go away. . .

"How pathetic."

Sighing, Adria shut her eyes tighter and chose not to respond.

"I give you one simple task, and you fail me? No wonder you are sentenced to death." The voice sneered.

"Go away, Mother. I do not wish to speak to you." Adria shot back with as much force as possible.

Her mother, or "the queen" as she likes to be called, grinned slyly. "I raise you for eighteen long years and yet you show me so little respect. My, my, love has quite changed you, my child."

"And it has changed me for the better." Replied Adria, still lying in the same position. Without warning, she felt a strong hand grab her shoulder and lift her up off her feet, spinning her around so she had to face her mother. Reluctantly, she locked eyes with the vile woman, but carried a disgusted expression as she did so.

"You have failed me for the last time. I now know that if I want someone killed, I must do it myself. Come," the queen commanded, releasing Adria and heading towards the exit of the cell, "we have a prince to kill.

"No."

The Queen sharply turned around to face her daughter. "Do my ears deceive me, or did you just refuse your queen?"

"You heard correctly. I will not help you kill Arthur." Adria stared back at her mother with pure hatred. This was the first time she ever refused her mother, and she loved every moment of it.

The Queen paused for a moment before she let out a sinister laugh. "Do not fool around with me; we have a task to complete."

"I'm serious, mother. I am loyal to you no longer."

At this, the queen rushed up to her daughter and stopped nigh but an inch away. "Youshall be loyal to me until your dying breath, do you understand?" She hissed, her anger rising with every moment.

"You," Adria started, her voice as venomous as her mother's, if not more, "are nothing but a cruel, unforgiving, controlling witch. I hope – no, I pray – that you suffer a slow and cruel death, all by Arthur's hand."

A quick, shooting pain fell upon Adria's face the moment the words left her mouth. Rubbing her now red cheek, she looked up at her mother, who had backhanded her in reply to her harsh words. "You are to return home at once. I shall deal with you later." Spoke her mother before turning around and walking to the exit. She stopped just a few feet shy of the door, however, and turned back over her shoulder to cast one last look at the red-headed girl. "Remember; there is not one place where you can hide that I will not find you." Sending one last glare at Adria, she turned and disappeared down the hallway.

Adria gawked at the open door for several moments, dozens of thoughts pouring into her head. If her mother was determined enough – and she was – she could easily kill Arthur without lifting a finger. The urge to go help Arthur erupted within her, but she pushed it aside. Arthur would never accept her help. If he were to survive, he would simply send Adria back into the dungeons to await her death. Taking in a deep breath, Adria slowly walked out of her cellar. She traversed down the hall, planning on heeding her mother's command and heading back to her home. But, as she got about halfway down the hall, the urge to go save Arthur returned once more, yet this time it was stronger than ever. She just had to go save Arthur. She had to.

Quickly turning on her heel, Adria rushed down the hall, her mind set on a new task. And this time, she was determined to accomplish it.


	13. The Final Attempt

_First, I want to apologize it took so long for me to post this. As the title states, it is the final attempt - meaning it's the final chapter, so I wanted to make it as good as I could. Yes, this is the last chapter. I absolutely loved writing this story and I want to thank everyone who stuck with me through the whole process. It's been a fun ride, has it not? _

_Merci, mon amis! Merci. ~Ninja_

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**Chapter 12: The Final Attempt**

The room was so full of heartbreak and gloom that every breath of air made it feel like he was inhaling a thick cloud of despair. A blind man could have seen that the prince was unhappy about the current situation. Merlin especially knew how hard it must have been for Arthur to watch as the girl he undoubtedly loved is convicted as an assassin, whose only goal was to dispose of the prince himself. Merlin stood by the door for several long moments, simply watching Arthur as he leaned against the wall and stared out the window. Merlin did not know if Arthur was aware of his presence or not, but if he did, he did not show any sign of recognition. It was not until Merlin had moved closer that Arthur spoke.

"Do not say it."

Propping himself up against a piece of furniture, Merlin slightly arched his eyebrows. "Say what, sire?"

Arthur barely shifted his eyes to look at Merlin, "You know."

"Ah," began the manservant, "you mean you don't want me to say I told you that she was the one who tried to kill you and _not_ the advisor to the king and that you're a prat for not listening to me?" A slight smile spread across Merlin's lips. He knew that he was dealing with a delicate situation, but he hoped that he could at least cheer Arthur up a bit.

It did not work. He merely was shot an un-amused look by Arthur, who then turned back to look out the open window. Several awkward moments went by where Arthur stood still and Merlin attempted several times to say something, but otherwise failed.

"Why did she do it?" Arthur asked. The question caught Merlin off-guard. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by someone appearing in front of the window.

"Because I told her to."

Both of the boys jumped back a good five feet; Merlin actually tripped over his legs and plummeted to the floor. Once they recollected themselves, they turned their attention towards the person who had startled them. Hanging upside-down, right outside the window, an older woman with jet black hair stared at them with a grin.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked with a commanding voice, which only made the woman laugh.

"My identity is not of importance." The woman skillfully turned herself around and slipped into the room. She had such agility and flexibility for her age that it was surprising. "What you do need to know, however," she began, edging closer to the two boys, who in turn stepped away, "is that I am the one who is going to take your life. Oh, and you may call me your queen, if you wish."

At the sound of her threat, Arthur did not waste a moment, "Guards!" He shouted, and again, the 'Queen' laughed.

She continued to edge closer to the boys, her face carrying a smile that did not reach her ears. "Do not waste your breath; I have disposed of all the guards within hearing distance. It is just you and me . . . and the servant."

Arthur had backed up just enough so he was next to where his sword was resting. When he reached for his weapon, he found that he grabbed nothing but empty space. A slight wave of panic jolted through him, but the panic vanished when he felt the hilt of his sword tap his arm. His eyes traveled up to the sword to see Merlin standing on the other side, holding it out for him to take with a '_go get her'_ look across his face. Arthur simply nodded and grabbed the sword, then turned his attention back to the woman. "If you do not turn yourself in right now I shall have no other choice than to kill you."

This time, the woman laughed even harder than before. "My, my, now I know what my daughter sees in you. You two are both too naïve for your own good."

"Your daughter – ?"

"Yes, yes, Adria is my daughter." The Queen waved a hand, "and not a very good one at that. I give her one task – one simple task – and she instead falls for _you._" A look of disgust etched across the Queen's face. "She is nothing but a pathetic, weak, traitorous, horrid waste of – "

In the blink of an eye, Arthur's anger had risen to such a high level that he impulsively charged towards the woman with his sword ready. She did not seem worried, however; quickly muttering something under her breath, she flicked her hand and sent Arthur flying to the adjacent wall.

"Arthur!"

The Queen snapped her head over to the servant. Immediately he began to grope at his throat, trying to pry away the invisible hand that was wringing his neck. Once Merlin was down on his knees and gasping for breath, she turned her attention back to Arthur, who had just barely pulled himself up to a stand.

"Is this all?" she said with a taunting voice. "No magic, no other weapons, just the sword? I almost feel bad for you."

Once again, Arthur readied his sword and came at her, and, surprise, she muttered foreign words and Arthur was sent flying across the room for the second time. This time, he landed on his side and then fell down to the floor, ending up right next to the choking Merlin. Looking up, Arthur saw his bed flying towards him and Merlin. Without thinking he grabbed Merlin's shirt and threw him out of the way, and then jumped to the side himself. The bed hit the wall and broke into thousands of pieces and covered them with debris, but otherwise missed the two. When he landed on his back after being thrown, Merlin felt the invisible hand release his throat.

"Fight me!" The woman screeched, sending dozens of small objects flying in their direction; chairs, small items, forks, bowls, it did not matter – if it could hurt, it was heading their way. Merlin looked at Arthur next to him, then back at the wall of assorted objects. "Duck!" He shouted, and before Arthur could respond, grabbed the prince's head and shoved it to the ground. Now that Arthur could not see, Merlin was ready to give the woman a taste of his own magic.

"Artho shelda," Muttered the warlock, and all of the objects stopped in mid-air. He muttered another set of magic words, and all of the objects reversed their coarse and headed back to the woman. Merlin was just about to whisper another set of incantations, but the woman had waved her hand and all of the objects fell to the ground, lifeless once more.

"Oh-ho, I see now." said she with a distinct voice of amusement. "I know the perfect spell for you, _servant._"

She spoke words that were unrecognizable to Merlin as she waved her hand through the air. A small purple cloud began to form beside her. At this point, Merlin had let go of Arthur and he was able to sit up. They both watched as the woman blew them a kiss, and a line of the purple smoke began to snake its way over to the prince and his servant. In no time it reached Merlin, and no matter how hard he struggled or tried to get away, it twisted around his body and up to his face, where it covered his mouth and rendered him unable to speak. Merlin had been trapped inside magic bonds, unable to move. Still keeping an eye on the woman, Arthur crawled over to Merlin and tried to pry the smoke off of him, but his hand only went right through.

Although he hated leaving Merlin on the floor, struggling, Arthur parted with his servant and stood up to face the woman once more. He knew there was a good chance that would not even land a blow on the witch because of her magic, but he knew that he could not back down, not if the safety of the kingdom could be at stake. This time, instead of charging at her and having himself flung across the room again, Arthur tried a different tactic. He looked down next to him and saw a broken chair tipped over. Quickly, he grabbed the chair and hurled it at the witch. It flew across the room at a good speed, but she saw it coming from a mile away. She rid of the chair by waving her hand, and once that was gone, she grinned. What she didn't expect, though, was that the moment Arthur had thrown the chair, he came running at her with his sword. He had bought himself a good second, but sadly, he was a second too late. She stepped to the side once he got close enough, causing his sword to miss her completely. In one swift motion she grabbed his sword, tossed it to the side, and then grabbed his arm and flipped him. Arthur landed flat on his back, hard.

"Tsk, tsk," She bent down next to the groaning Arthur, "you are even weaker than my daughter. This is way too easy." Arthur tried to take a swing at her, but she grabbed his arm with such a grip he winced in pain. He could not get up, for the pain from his back had immobilized him. Lifting her hand, she recited a spell and a blood-red electric ball of magic to form in her hand. "Farewell, Pendragon. It has been a . . . pleasure." With that, she pulled her hand back, and then brought it down towards his chest –

"Ibdeem apello!"

The Queen was hit with a powerful force that knocked her off her feet and threw her several yards awau. She recovered quickly, however, and shot a glare over to the door.

Adria was glaring right back.

"Come to rescue your love, my child?" Her mother spat with disgust. "How path – "

A gold ball of lightning shot across the room and cut off the Queen's taunting. The older woman easily deflected the spell with her own counter-spell, but she was surprised by the fury her daughter had unleashed. It seemed like this was going to be a fun battle, after all.

Both mother and daughter stared at each other for several long moments, neither of them daring to make a move. They did not notice the two men – still lying on the floor – watching them with intent eyes. Out of nowhere, Adria lifted up her hand, shouted a spell, and sent yet another golden ball whizzing throughout the air. Of course, it was blocked, but Adria had sent two more right after that. They, too, were blocked. Again and again she tried, but again and again her mother blocked every shot. When Adria deemed it impossible to hurt her mother that way, she ceased fire. Adria's mother did not act at all phased; on the contrary, she lifted up a hand and grinned.

Then the battle ensued.

Spell after spell was casted between the women, both of them being so talented that neither of them could land a hit. The room flashed with so many brilliant colors it looked like someone was putting on a symphony of lights; a very deadly, magical symphony. Mother and daughter continued to fight, each of them showing no signs of giving up. Although the Queen was far more superior to her daughter, Adria showed strength nonetheless. The battle lasted for a while, until the Queen got fed up.

"Enough!" The Queen shrieked, throwing her hands in a downward motion. Adria stiffened; her whole body had locked up. The only thing she could move was her eyes, and yet they did not break away from her mother for one moment.

"You have defied me for the last time," Adria's mother hissed, slowly walking towards the immobilized girl. "I gave you a simple task, and you have failed. It is now time for your punishment." She did a quick flicking motion with her arm, causing a hidden blade to slip out of her sleeve and into her hand.

"Goodbye, _daughter._"

With one swift motion, the Queen brought the blade forward and bore it straight into Adria's stomach. The young girl's eyes grew wide as her face turned pale. She could not move, nor could she speak; she couldn't even scream out in agony. All she could do was stare into the corrupted face of her mother.

After a few moments, the Queen pulled the sword out from Adria's body and admired its new crimson red blade. She nonchalantly whispered a spell, and in response, Adria collapsed to the floor. With a grin, the Queen looked down at the motionless girl before she turned around to finish what she had started – but the moment she completed the one-eighty, a sharp pain ran though her abdomen and her eyes grew wide, just as her daughter's had done only a few seconds before.

Slowly looking down to where the pain was coming from, the woman saw that a sword was stuck straight through her body. She did not need to look up to see who it was that had impaled her, but she did it anyway. The woman looked up into the livid face of the prince and saw the burning hatred within his eyes.

"Y-you," the Queen spluttered, a trace of a smirk still etched on her lips and a laugh in her voice, "have made a grave m-mistake."

"So have you." Arthur twisted the sword and shoved it in deeper, and the woman's smirk instantly disappeared. He quickly and pulled away and watched as the Queen's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Backwards she fell, landing on the ground in heap just paces away from her daughter.

The Queen was dead.

Arthur looked down at the dead body with a seething expression, before he noticed the red-haired body lying only a few feet away. "Adria. . ., " He quickly fell down onto his knees and grabbed her shoulder, gently pulling her onto her back. Instead of looking into a lifeless face like he expected, Arthur was greeted with blue-gray eyes staring up at him.

"A-Arthur?" The dying girl coughed, bringing her hand up to touch his face and make sure he was actually real and not some figment of her imagination.

He could not help smiling slightly after seeing she was still alive. "Yes – yes, Adria, it's me," Arthur grabbed her hand and held it in his own, while his other hand came forward and gently brushed away the strands of hair that threatened to block her gorgeous visage.

Just then, Merlin appeared right next to Arthur. Apparently, after the evil witch had fallen, the magical bonds that had restrained Merlin disappeared. He looked down at the girl and, even though she had tried to kill both him and Arthur, showed a worried expression.

The prince looked up at his manservant. Only one word came out of his mouth. "Gaius."

Not even needing to analyze the statement, Merlin swiftly hurried out of the room.

"Come on, Adria, we shall take you to Gaius and he will heal you." Arthur said, slipping both of his arms under Adria and attempting to pick her up – but that didn't work. He had to set her back down again, for the moment they moved she let out a scream of pain.

"No – no, Arthur, it is too late. There is nothing you or Gaius can do now." She tried to tell him, but he would not hear of it.

"That is not true," He reached for her hand once more and grabbed it. This time, he could practically feel her life slipping away. "Please, just . . . just hang on, Adria. It will be alright."

She looked up at him with glossy eyes. "Arthur . . . I'm sorry." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he could hear every syllable filled with indescribable emotion.

"No, my love, do not be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about," Arthur also whispered, trying his hardest to swallow his own emotions. "Do you remember what I said in the dungeons?"

She nodded wearily.

"All of it – everything I said – it is not true. I take back everything. I love you, Adria."

Although it hurt immensely, a smile spread across Adria's lips. She brought her free hand up and gently stroked Arthur's beaten face.

"Well then," she began, her eyes practically filled with tears, "I shall die knowing I am now loved."

With one last exhaling breath, Adria slowly closed her eyes and her whole body relaxed. Her hand slipped away from his face and gently landed onto the ground with a soft, unresponsive _thump_.

Right at that moment, Merlin and Gaius had rushed into the room. Instead of having to save Adria as they expected, they found Arthur with a shocked face and holding a lifeless limb. Merlin made a move to go consol Arthur, but Gaius merely grabbed his arm and shook his head. The servant stepped back, and then noticed something missing from the room. Where there was supposed to be two dead bodies only laid one. The Queen's body had disappeared.

Arthur did not notice this; for he was too busy staring down into the pale face of the late Adria. At that point, he had allowed his emotions to completely overrun him. His eyes filled up with water as he brought her hand up and gently placed a kiss on it. She had saved his life, even though it meant sacrificing her own. Perhaps that actually was her task; instead of killing Arthur, she was supposed saved him. If that was the case, then the job was finished.

The task was complete.


	14. Epilogue

_So I bet you guys thought that last chapter was it, huh? Wrong! I got a little Epilogue for you. I just couldn't resist.  
Okay, so this is really it, but I have some ideas for a sequel in mind, but I'm not sure if that would be pushing it or not. What do you think? Sequel, or not sequel, that is the question._

_Once again, I thank you for all the wonderful reviews, and I am glad for all of those who have stuck with the story throughout the journey. As always, merci, mon amis, merci._

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**Epilogue**

Because the grass was still damp, the sounds of the wooden cart travelling across the field were easily muffled, save for a few squeaks here and there. It was so quiet that a person would have to be right next to the cart to be able to hear it clearly; that is, they would have heard it, if it wasn't for the loud chattering of the men who possessed the said cart.

"So, how do you think it all happened?" huffed the fellow somewhat tall, lanky fellow with a medium-sized build pulling the cart, gesturing towards the large, covered-up lump from within the cart.

The other man, about a head shorter that the first one but with a better build, walked ahead with a shovel over his shoulder. "Well, I heard from a reliable source that, after spendin' a night in the dungeons, she just snapped!" He said, abruptly stopping and turning around to scare the other man. It worked. "An' so she used 'er rotten magic to break out, then she followed th' prince around until he was alone. Once 'e was alone, she let loose on him and tore the place apart! Ravin' mad, she is."

The taller man, after having to recompose himself because of his fright, looked at his comrade, unconvinced. "Then how did the prince survive? Surely she was a witch; therefore she could have killed him without thinking. Do you even know how she died?" he asked, and in response the man with the shovel rolled his eyes.

"Did ya not see her body? There's a big 'ole in it! And besides," shovel-man snorted, "I asked my source that already. 'How did he kill 'er?' I says, and he tells me that they battled all the way over to the weaponry, and the prince grabbed a spear and trew it at 'er! Went right trew th' gut."

The man with the cart, once again, did not look convinced. "Who was this 'reliable source' that told you?"

"Jus' a guy I know – why?"

"Did you pay him for this story?"

"Yeah."

Tall-man sighed, "Of course." Deciding to drop the frivolous conversation, he changed the subject. Luckily, the new subject of topic was their destination, for they had just arrived. "We're here." He said, stopping by a small empty plot of land, with shovel-man stopping as well. He took the shovel off of his shoulder and aggressively jammed it into the ground. He began to dig a decent-sized hole.

Pulling the blanket back a bit, the taller man peered into the cart, scrutinizing the human face that lay within. The deceased person – obviously female – had deep red hair and a pale, lifeless face. "Too bad she was a magic worshipper; she is quite the pretty lady."

"That's how they all are," the other man grunted as he threw dirt over his shoulder, "drop dead gorgeous. That way, they can seduce ya and lure ya into their trap."

From there, the two men continued their conversation, trying their best to speculate what had happened just the other day. King Uther, although not knowing the true story himself, had decided to keep the story locked up from the public. Of course, that meant all of Camelot knew about the witch that tried to kill Arthur, but they knew none of the details, which forced them to guess for themselves.

Both of the guys burying the body were completely unaware of the fact that the one man who knew exactly what had happened was watching them from a distance. Lucky for the prince, it was the dead of night, so any chances of him being spotted were minimal. Arthur stood motionless, drinking in the reality that swam before him.

Adria was dead. She was gone.

He had watched her die; he had watched his love die, and it was perhaps one of the most painful moments he had ever endured. He couldn't save her, he couldn't have made her last moments any less painful, all he could do was sit there and watch her life slip away. Arthur, the prince of Camelot, the man next in line for the throne, never felt so helpless.

The fact that she had died in attempt to save his life haunted him more than anything. Those moments before she died replayed in his head over and over again, refusing to allow him the chance to wash away all the horror he has seen. It all was so clear in his head. He could easily remember seeing her standing by the door, a fiery look in her eyes. It was at that moment that he knew she truly had changed and that everything she had said was true. Arthur wanted to help her as she engaged in the magic battle with her mother, but he knew he was no match. All he could do was sit and watch as the Queen had cheated and killed her own daughter. By then, his anger had returned full steam, and before he knew it he was standing in front of the witch with his sword plunged through the Queen's body. Arthur had gotten his revenge, but it was a hollow victory. In the end, he felt no joy for the evil he had vanquished, only sorrow for the love he had lost.

Arthur had pulled himself out of his thoughts just in time to watch the two men grab Adria's body and throw her into the freshly dug hole, a wince slightly spreading across his face. Part of him wanted to walk away right then and there, yet the rest of him felt like he should stay longer so as to pay his respects. While he continued to watch, a voice appeared from behind him.

"I'm sorry, Arthur."

The prince took in a deep breath. Although he never would admit it, he was glad that the person who had found him was Merlin. He did not respond, however, but kept his eyes on the two men in the distance.

A long moment of silence ensued as the master and his manservant stood, unmoving as they watched as dirt was being thrown back into the hole. Finally, Merlin decided to break the silence, "She wanted me to give you this."

This tidbit of information had surprised Arthur. He turned back to look at Merlin, who was holding out some parchment. After staring at it for a while, he reached out his arm and gently grabbed the paper. His manservant gave a weak smile, patted him on the back in a friendly, consoling gesture, and then turned around and walked back the way he came. The prince looked down at the nicely rolled up parchment in his hands. How she was able to persuade Merlin to carry the letter, he did not know, but he was thankful that she did.

Glancing back up at the men, he saw that they had just finished putting the last of the dirt in the hole and were walking away. Exhaling a long breath of air, Arthur turned in the other direction and solemnly headed back to the castle.

Finally, he was able to accept the horrible reality that she was gone, never to return...


End file.
